Astérix (satellite)

Astérix

File:Asterix Musee du Bourget P1020341.JPG Replica of Astérix at Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Paris Le Bourget
Mission type	Technology
Operator	CNES
Harvard designation	1965-096A
SATCAT №	1778
Mission duration	111 days
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass	42.0 kilograms (92.6 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	26 November 1965, 09:52 (1965-11-26UTC09:52Z) UTC
Rocket	Diamant A
Launch site	Hammaguir Brigitte
End of mission
Last contact	28 November 1965 (1965-11-29)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Semi-major axis	7,468.0 kilometres (4,640.4 mi)
Eccentricity	0.08023
Perigee	527 kilometres (327 mi)
Apogee	1,697 kilometres (1,054 mi)
Inclination	34.30 degrees
Period	107.5 minutes
Epoch	1965

Astérix, the first French satellite, was launched on November 26, 1965 by a Diamant A rocket from Hammaguir, Algeria. With Astérix, France became the sixth country to have an artificial satellite in orbit after: USSR (Sputnik 1, 1957), the USA (Explorer 1, 1958), the United Kingdom (Ariel 1, 1962), Canada (Alouette 1, 1962) and Italy (San Marco 1, 1964), and the third to launch a satellite on its own (the UK, Canada and Italy's satellites were launched on American rockets). The satellite was originally designated A-1, as the French Army's first satellite, but later renamed after the popular French comics character Astérix. Due to the relatively high altitude of its orbit, it is not expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere for several centuries.

Data

• Weight: 42 kg
• Perigee: 527 km
• Apogee: 1697 km
• Inclination: 34.3 degrees
• Orbital period: 107.5 minutes and 5 seconds

See also

• Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes

External links

• Astronautix.com
• Free paper model of Astérix satellite