EROS A

The Earth Remote Observation System A (EROS-A or EROS A1) was part of the EROS family of Israeli commercial Earth observation satellites, designed and manufactured by Israel Aircraft Industries.[6] This was the first satellite in the series. The satellite was owned and operated by ImageSat International.

EROS A
Mission typeEarth observation
OperatorImageSat International
COSPAR ID2000-079A
SATCAT no.26631
WebsiteImageSat International
Mission duration6 years planned[1];
ImageSat estimated satellite would work for 14 years[2]
Achieved: 15 years, 7 months and 1 day
Spacecraft properties
BusOPSAT-2000[3]
ManufacturerIAI
Launch mass240 kilograms (530 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date5 December 2000, 12:32 (2000-12-05UTC12:32Z) UTC[4]
RocketStart-1
Launch siteSvobodny 5
ContractorUnited Start
End of mission
Decay date7 July 2016
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth (Retrograde)
Perigee altitude523 kilometres (325 mi)
Apogee altitude536 kilometres (333 mi)
Inclination97.60 degrees
Period95.09 minutes
Epoch21 November 2013, 03:29:09 UTC[5]
 

The EROS A was launched on December 5, 2000 from Svobodny Launch Complex in eastern Siberia.[7]

Spacecraft

The satellite was 1.2m in diameter, 2.3m in height. It weighed 250 kg at launch. The design was based on the military reconnaissance satellite Ofeq 3, which was previously built, also by IAI for Israeli government use.

Control Systems

The satellite was equipped with a 3-axis stabilized and a four reaction wheels actuator. The satellite is also equipped with horizon sensors, sun sensors, gyros and magnetometer for altitude determination.[8]

Ground Communication Systems

The satellite is equipped with a 70Mbit/s imagery link, a 15 kbit/s maintenance downlink, and a 15kbit/s command uplink.[9]

Operation

The satellite always crosses the equator at 9:45am local time. Future satellites were planned to extend the time dimension to vary the crossing time between mid-morning and mid after. This will allow it to compensate for poor visibility conditions arising from clouds at different altitudes.

While the satellite's primary purpose is agricultural engineers, planners and other professionals who need detailed pictures of different places in the world, it can also be used for various other applications. The satellite provides commercial images with an optical resolution of 1.8 meters using. It has optical resolution capabilities of up to 1.2 meters.

The satellite can be temporarily controlled by a customer when it passes over the areas of interest. This is used to allow the client privacy without the operator knowing what's being looked at. This capability, however, is not allowed over the State of Israel by the Israeli government.

The satellite increased its orbital altitude for the last time on 24 April 2012 and reentered on 7 July 2016.[2]

See also

References
  1. "UCS Satellite Database". Union of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  2. https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/eros-a.htm
  3. Krebs, Gunter. "EROS-A 1, 2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  4. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  5. Peat, Chris (21 November 2013). "EROS A1 - Orbit". Heavens Above. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  6. "Serbia Settlement IAI Bond Purchase Boost Fortunes of Israel's ImageSat". SpaceNews. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  7. "EROS-A (Earth Remote Observation System-A)". EOPortal. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  8. "EROS A". Apollo Mapping. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  9. A, Klein. "Flight Operations Engineering for the Earth Resource Spacecraft Eros-A". Retrieved 20 November 2013.
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