Titan 2 Successfully Orbits Coriolis in First 2003 Launch

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Titan 2 Successfully Orbits Coriolis in First 2003 Launch

More Information:

A Titan 2 successfully launched Coriolis from Vandenberg AFB, pad SLC 4W, at 1419 UTC on January 6. The spacecraft was placed into a 830 km (448 nmi) Sun-synchronous orbit. The US$224 million spacecraft will be used to study wind patterns over the Earth's oceans and watch for coronal mass ejections from the Sun. Coriolis is a joint project of the U.S. Air Force and Navy.

The 816 kg (1798 lbm) spacecraft was built by Spectrum Astro. The satellite is carrying the Navy's Windsat microwave polarimetric radiometer and the Air Force's Solar Mass Ejection Imager. Windsat was built by the Naval Research Lab for the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. Windsat will gather wind speed and direction measurements at or near the surface of Earth's oceans. The information will be used in the Navy's operations planning and to improve weather forecasting. The Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) was built by the Air Force Research Lab. SMEI is designed to improve space weather forecasts by observing the Sun and monitoring any massive eruptions. Coronal ejections that throw huge amounts of charged particles toward our planet can wreak havoc with satellite operations, as well as communication services and electrical power grids on the ground. SMEI could provide one to three days of advanced warning from the time an eruption occurs on the Sun's surface to the time the solar plasma reaches the Earth's magnetic field.

Coriolis is the largest spacecraft launched by a Titan 2 rocket. The mission used a newly developed 7.6 m (25 ft) long fairing to accommodate the tall satellite. The U.S. Air Force Titan 2 was originally an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. Lockheed Martin converted 14 of the missiles into space launch vehicles for polar orbiting missions launched from Vandenberg. This was the 12^th Titan 2 to be launched. The final Titan 2 launch is currently scheduled for mid-May to launch the long delayed DMSP F-16 weather satellite.

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January 6, 2003