Miranda (satellite)
Miranda, also known as X-4, is a British satellite in low Earth orbit. The satellite was launched in March 1974 as an engineering test bed of technologies in orbit.[2]
| Names | X4 |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1974-013A |
| SATCAT no. | 07213[1] |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Hawker Siddeley Dynamics |
| Launch mass | 92 kilograms (203 lb)[2] |
| Power | 2 deployable solar arrays |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 9 March 1974, 02:22:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Scout D-1 |
| Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-5 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth Orbit |
| Eccentricity | 0.01403 |
| Perigee altitude | 714 kilometres (444 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 916 kilometres (569 mi) |
| Inclination | 97.8 degrees |
| Period | 101.2 minutes |
| Epoch | 8 March 1974, 08:22:00 UTC [3] |
Miranda was named after a character in the Shakespeare play The Tempest,[4][5] just like Prospero (spacecraft) and Ariel 1.
Design
Operational
Miranda used propane cold gas thrusters for attitude control.[1]
Sensors
It contained a Canopus star sensor to determine the reflectivity and interference caused by the propane.[1]
Launch
Miranda was due to be launched by a British Black Arrow rocket, but due to the project's cancellation the payload was instead launched on the NASA-owned rocket Scout.[5]
Mission
Designed as an engineering test bed for various technologies in orbit, Miranda carried various sensors and detectors.[2]
Current status
The satellite is now non-active, but remains in low Earth orbit.
See also
Notes
- "General information about Miranda". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- "Miranda (X 4)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
- "Launch/Orbital information for Miranda". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- Hill 2001, p. 201.
- Gruntman 2004, p. 17.
References
- Gruntman, Mike (2004). Blazing the Trail: The Early History of Spacecraft and Rocketry. AIAA. ISBN 9781563477058.
- Hill, Charles N. (2001). A Vertical Empire: The History of the UK Rocket and Space Programme 1950-1971 (1st ed.). World Scientific. ISBN 9781783261451.
- Trevorrow, E. U. (3 March 1977). "Miranda Data Processing - Interfaces" (PDF). Royal Aircraft Establishment. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2020.