The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity

158 Genesis
launch failed and the vehicle fell into the ocean. It
was replaced by a backup called the Augmented Target
Docking Adapter (ATDA), which was not a modified
Agena but simply a TDA with a cylindrical back
Genesis
A NASA mission that will collect 10 to 20 micrograms
of particles from the solar wind using high purity wafers
set in winglike arrays—the agency’s first sample-return
attempt since Apollo 17 in 1972. For two years, Genesis
will orbit around the first Lagrangian point (L1) of the
Earth-Sun system before returning to enable recovery of
its 210-kg sample capsule in September 2004. As the capsule
descends by parachute, it will be caught by a helicopter
over the Utah desert. Scientists know that the
Solar System evolved a little under five billion years ago
from an interstellar cloud of gas, dust, and ice, but the
exact composition of this cloud remains unknown. As
its name implies, Genesis will help unravel this mystery
by recovering material that has been shot out of the
upper layers of the Sun—material that has not been modified
by nuclear reactions in the Sun’s core and is thus
representative of the composition of the original presolar
nebula. At its stable location at the L1 point, Genesis
will be well outside Earth’s magnetosphere, which
deflects the solar wind away from the terrestrial environs.
Launch
Date: August 8, 2001
Vehicle: Delta 7326
Site: Cape Canaveral
GEO
An acronym for either geostationary Earth orbit (see geostationary
orbit) or geosynchronous Earth orbit (see geosynchronous
orbit).
Geo-IK
A Soviet geodetic satellite system, also known as Musson
(“monsoon”). The first Geo-IK was launched in 1981, to
be followed by roughly one more per year until the mid-
1990s. Normally one or two satellites were operational at
any given time. Each 1,500-kg Geo-IK was launched by a
Tsyklon-3 from Plesetsk and placed into an almost circular
low Earth orbit with an average altitude of 1,500 km
and an inclination of 73.6° or 82.6°. In contrast, the
end to mate it directly to the Atlas. Unfortunately, the
ATDA’s shroud failed to separate properly, leaving it
in “Angry Alligator” mode and unable to support the
docking.
Etalon geodetic satellites were placed in much higher
orbits and were completely passive.
geocentric
Relating to or measured from Earth’s center.
geodesy
The science that treats the shape and size of Earth
through applied mathematics.
geodesy satellites
Spacecraft that are used to measure the location of points
on Earth’s surface with great accuracy. Their observations
help to determine the exact size and shape of Earth, act
as references for mapping, and track movements of
Earth’s crust.
GEOS (Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite)
NASA spacecraft flown as part of the National Geodetic
Satellite Program (NGSP). Instrumentation varied by
mission, with the goals of pinpointing observation points
(geodetic control stations) in a three-dimensional Earth
center-of-mass coordinate system to within 10 m, determining
the structure of Earth’s gravity field to five parts
in 10 million, defining the structure of Earth’s irregular
gravitational field and refining the locations and
strengths of large gravity anomalies, and comparing the
results of the various systems onboard the spacecraft to
determine the most accurate and reliable system. GEOS
1 and 2 were part of the Explorer series and also designated
Explorer 29 and 36. GEOS 3 was designed to be a
stepping-stone between the NGSP and the Earth and
Ocean Physics Application Program by providing data to
refine the geodetic and geophysical results of the NGSP.
It proved important in developing gravity models before
the launch of TOPEX/Posiedon since it was located
near that spacecraft’s mirror inclination. (See table,
“GEOS Missions.”)
Geosat
A U.S. Navy satellite designed to measure sea surface
heights to within 5 cm. After a year-and-a-half-long
classified mission, Geosat’s scientific Exact Repeat Mission
(ERM) began on November 8, 1986. When the