NSSDCA ID: DADE-A
The Dual Air Density Explorer-A (DADE-A) satellite was a 0.76 m rigid sphere designed to determine, in conjunction with Dual Air Density Explorer-B (DADE-B), the vertical structure of the upper thermosphere and the lower exosphere as a function of latitude, season, and local solar time. Both satellites would have been launched by a single Scout launch vehicle into coplanar polar orbits. Measurements of atmospheric density from DADE-A would have been obtained from satellite drag analyses near perigee (apporximately 350 km) and from composition measurements taken by an onboard mass spectrometer. DADE-A was equipped with a radio beacon to facilitate tracking.
Launch Date: 1975-12-05
Launch Vehicle: Scout
Launch Site: Vandenberg AFB, United States
Mass: 40 kg
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Mr. John R. Holtz | Program Manager | NASA Headquarters | |
Mr. John E. Canady, Jr. | Project Manager | NASA Langley Research Center | |
Dr. Erwin R. Schmerling | Program Scientist | NASA Headquarters | |
Mr. Edwin J. Prior | Project Scientist | NASA Langley Research Center | e.j.prior@larc.nasa.gov |