Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer
SAMPEX satellite | |
| Names | Explorer 68 SAMPEX SMEX-1 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Magnetospheric research |
| Operator | NASA / GSFC |
| COSPAR ID | 1992-038A |
| SATCAT no. | 22012 |
| Website | lasp |
| Mission duration | 3 years (planned) 11 years, 11 months and 27 days (science mission) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Explorer LXVIII |
| Spacecraft type | Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer |
| Bus | SAMPEX |
| Manufacturer | Goddard Space Flight Center |
| Launch mass | 158 kg (348 lb) |
| Payload mass | 45.2 kg (100 lb) |
| Dimensions | 1.5 × 0.9 m (4 ft 11 in × 2 ft 11 in) |
| Power | 102 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 3 July 1992, 14:19 UTC |
| Rocket | Scout G-1 (S-215C) |
| Launch site | Vandenberg, SLC-5 |
| Contractor | Vought |
| Entered service | 3 July 1992 |
| End of mission | |
| Deactivated | 30 June 2004 |
| Last contact | 13 November 2012 |
| Decay date | 13 November 2012 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Polar orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 520 km (320 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 670 km (420 mi) |
| Inclination | 82 deg |
| Period | 96.70 minutes |
| Instruments | |
| Heavy Ion Large Telescope (HILT) Low-energy Ion Composition Analyzer (LICA) Mass Spectrometer Telescope (MAST) Proton/Electron Telescope (PET) | |
SAMPEX (Explorer 68) mission patch Small Explorer program (SAMPEX) | |
The Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX or Explorer 68) was a NASA solar and magnetospheric observatory and was the first spacecraft in the Small Explorer program. It was launched into low Earth orbit on 3 July 1992 from Vandenberg Air Force Base (Western Test Range) aboard a Scout G-1 launch vehicle. SAMPEX was an international collaboration between NASA and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics of Germany (which provided the Heavy Ion Large Telescope). The Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) is the first of a series of spacecraft that was launched under the Small Explorer (SMEX) program for low-cost spacecraft.