NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1985-033A
This spacecraft, prepared by the Intershock project, was designed to study the earth's bow shock and interplanetary shocks. More specifically, it carried out research in the structure of the quasi-parallel shock wave front, consisting of both the extended region of acceleration and the much more narrow region of the magnetic field jump. Topics of interest included the number density and temperature of the plasma from which a particle is injected into the acceleration region. The equipment also made it possible to study other thin boundaries in the magnetosphere, magnetopause jumps of the electric field, and plasma parameters in the auroral magnetosphere. The spacecraft carried instruments for studying the plasma, the magnetic field, electric and magnetic components of waves, solar flare X-ray bursts, and kilometer radiation. Normal operation provided for sampling each parameter every 10.24 s in storage mode. High-speed sampling rates for selected shock data ranged up to 16 samples per second in shock mode. These special high-bit-rate sessions were triggered at the moment of encounter with the shock wave, as determined by onboard computer analysis of the plasma and magnetic field behavior. The incoming high-rate data were recorded in a 120-kb loop memory that covered the previous 8 min. This loop memory was frozen when the shock wave high-rate mode was triggered and its data were transmitted. The onboard system could be reprogrammed in flight, enabling major changes in the logic and mode of operation of the whole spacecraft. The spin axis was parallel to the spacecraft X axis, and pointed toward the sun. A description of the spacecraft and the instruments is given in "Intershock Project," Pub. No. 60 of the Astron. Inst., Czech. Academy of Sciences, 1985 (B36875-000A in the NSSDC Technical Reference File).
Launch Date: 1985-04-26
Launch Vehicle: Modified SS-6 (Sapwood) with 2nd Generation Upper Stage + Escape Stage
Launch Site: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R
Mass: 1000 kg
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Dr. H. Kent Hills
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Dr. Oleg L. Vaisberg | Project Scientist | Institut Kosmicheskich Issledovaniya (IKI) | olegv@iki.rssi.ru |
Dr. Albert A. Galeev | Project Manager | Institut Kosmicheskich Issledovaniya (IKI) | agaleev@iki.rssi.ru |