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

42 asteroid missions
asteroid missions
See comet and asteroid missions.
Astra
Acommunications satellite system supported by a fleet
of (at mid-2002 count) 12 communications satellites for
direct-to-home reception of TV, radio, and computer
data. The system is owned and operated by SES Astra
(headquartered in Betzdorf, Luxembourg), a subsidiary
of SES Global. Seven of the Astra satellites are co-located
at 19.2° E, three at 28.2° E, and one each at 5.2° E and
24.2° E. Their footprints provide coverage across the
whole of Europe.
Astro (shuttle science payload)
A 12-ton Space Shuttle–borne ultraviolet observatory
that consists of three ultraviolet instruments: the Ultraviolet
Imaging Telescope for imaging in the spectral range
of 120 to 310 nm, the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope for
spectrophotometry in the range of 43 to 185 nm, and the
Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photopolarimetry Experiment for
spectropolarimetry in the range of 125 to 320 nm. Astro
is attached to and controlled from the Shuttle throughout
its mission. Astro-1 also gathered X-ray data in the
0.3- to 12-keV range using the BBXRT(Broad Band X-ray
Telescope). Astro-2 featured a Guest Observer Program
but did not carry the BBXRT. (See table, “Astro Flights.”)
Astro Flights
Spacecraft Date
Shuttle
Deployment
Mission Orbit
Astro-1 Dec. 2, 1990 STS-35 190 km × 28°
Astro-2 Mar. 2, 1995 STS-67 187 km × 28°
astro-
A prefix (from the Greek astron) meaning “star” or “stars”
and, by extension, sometimes used as the equivalent of
“celestial,” as in astronautics.
Astro-
The prelaunch designation of a series of Japanese astronomical
satellites built by ISAS (Institute of Space and
Astronautical Science) to carry out observations of cosmic
sources at X-ray and other wavelengths. This series
has included Astro-A (Hinotori), Astro-B (Tenma),
Astro-C (Ginga), and Astro-D (ASCA). Astro-E suffered
a launch failure, while Astro-F, in a break with tradition,
has already been named IRIS (Infrared Imaging Surveyor).
Astrobiology Explorer (ABE)
A proposed orbiting infrared telescope, with a mirror
about 40 cm in diameter, that would search for the spectral
signatures of complex interstellar organic compounds
in the range of 2.5 to 20 microns (millionths of a meter).
This data would enable astrobiologists to learn more
about the galactic abundance, distribution, and identities
of molecules that may play a role in the origin of life.
ABE, led by Scott Sandford of the Ames Research Center,
is one of four MIDEX (Medium-class Explorer)
missions selected by NASA in April 2002 for further
development, two of which will be launched in 2007 and
2008.
astrodynamics
The science concerned with all aspects of the motion of
satellites, rockets, and spacecraft. It involves the practical
application of celestial mechanics, astroballistics, propulsion
theory, and allied fields.
Astro-E
The fifth in a series of Japanese astronomy satellites designed
to observe celestial X-ray sources. Launched on
February 10, 2000, it failed to reach orbit after the first
stage of its M-5 launch vehicle malfunctioned. Astro-E
carried three main science instruments developed in partnership
with the Goddard Space Flight Center and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: an X-ray spectrometer
to provide high-resolution spectroscopy in the
0.4- to 10-keV range, four X-ray imaging spectrometers to
take X-ray images of objects in the 0.4- to 12-keV range,
and hard X-ray imaging detectors to measure high-energy
X-rays above 10 keV. It was intended to complement the
Chandra X-ray Observatory and XMM-Newton (X-ray
Multi-Mirror).
Astro-F
See IRIS (Infrared Imaging Surveyor).
Astron
A Soviet astrophysics satellite that carried science instruments
from the Soviet Union and France and made observations
of cosmic ultraviolet and X-ray sources from a
highly elliptical orbit.
Launch
Date: March 23, 1983
Vehicle: Proton-K
Site: Baikonur
Orbit: 28,386 × 175,948 km × 34.7°
Mass: 3,250 kg