Alouette 2
Launch of the Thor SLV-2 Agena B rocket with Alouette 2 satellite. | |
| Mission type | Ionospheric research |
|---|---|
| Operator | DRDC |
| COSPAR ID | 1965-098A |
| SATCAT no. | 1804 |
| Mission duration | Final: 9 years and 8 months |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | RCA Victor |
| Launch mass | 146.5 kilograms (323 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 29 November 1965, 04:48 UTC |
| Rocket | Thor SLV-2 Agena-B |
| Launch site | Vandenberg LC-75-1-1 |
| End of mission | |
| Deactivated | 1 August 1975 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Medium Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 508 kilometres (316 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 2,652 kilometres (1,648 mi) |
| Inclination | 79.8 degrees |
| Period | 117.61 minutes |
| Epoch | 5 December 2013, 13:24:44 UTC |
Alouette 2 was a Canadian research satellite launched at 04:48 UTC on November 29, 1965, by a Thor Agena rocket with Explorer 31 from the Western test range at Vandenberg AFB in California. It was — like its predecessor Alouette 1, and Explorer 31) — designed to explore the ionosphere.