SAPPHIRE (Stanford AudioPhonic PHotographic IR Experiment, also called Navy-OSCAR 45) was a satellite built by the Stanford University students in Palo Alto, California.[1]

SAPPHIRE
SAPPHIRE satellite
Mission typeCommunications
OperatorUSNA / University of Santa Clara
COSPAR ID2001-043D[1]
SATCAT no.26932
Mission duration2 years and 6 months
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerStanford University
Launch mass16 kg (35 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date30 September 2001, 02:40 UTC
RocketAthena 1 LM-001
Launch siteKodiak LP-1
ContractorLockheed Martin
End of mission
DisposalDecommissioned
Last contact2005
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Eccentricity0.0[1]
Altitude794 km (493 mi)[1]
Inclination67°[1]
Period101 minutes[1]
Epoch30 Sep 2001[1]
 
Athena 1 rocket launching SAPPHIRE from Kodiak Island, AK.

The satellite was launched on September 30, 2001 together with Starshine 3, PICOSat and PCSat on an Athena 1 rocket at the Kodiak Launch Complex, Alaska, United States.

Its purpose was the training of students, the operation of an infrared sensor, a digital camera, a speech synthesizer and from 2002 the operation of an APRS digipeater.[2] He also served to train midshipmen of the US Naval Academy in the field of satellite control.

The satellite's mission ended in early 2005.

Frequencies edit

  • Uplink: 145.945 MHz
  • Downlink: 437.1 MHz
  • Mode: 1200 bit/s AFSK
  • Call sign: KE6QMD[3]

See also edit

External links edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. "SAPPHIRE". Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  2. ^ "SAPPHIRE (Stanford AudioPhonic Photographic IR Experiment)". eoportal.org. Retrieved 15 Feb 2020.
  3. ^ n2yo.com. "SAPPHIRE". Retrieved 15 Feb 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)