LAUNCH CENTER

Success

Mon Aug 10 1992

Arianespace

Topex-Poseidon, Kitsat 1 & S80/T

Launch Successful

LAUNCH PREVIEW

Launch Time

(11:08 PM UTC)

Launch Window Start

(11:08 PM UTC)

Launch Window End

(11:08 PM UTC)

RECOVERY OVERVIEW

Location

No Recovery Specified

Type

No Recovery Specified

Rocket Details

Name:

Ariane 42P

Description:

The Ariane 4 was an expendable space launch system, developed by the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), the French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was manufactured by ArianeGroup and marketed by Arianespace. Since its first flight on 15 June 1988 until the final flight on 15 February 2003, it attained 113 successful launches out of 116 total launches.

MISSION OVERVIEW

Type: Earth Science
The TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite was launched on 10 August 1992 with the objective of "observing and understanding the ocean circulation". A joint project between NASA, the U.S. space agency, and CNES, the French space agency, it carries two radar altimeters and precise orbit determination systems, including the DORIS system. KITSAT-1 (Korean Institute of Technology Satellite) was a collaborative research mission, encompassing the installation of a groundstation in South Korea, participation of Korean engineers in the UoSAT-5 mission, technology transfer and training of students on the MSc courses at Surrey, and the involvement in a engineering and flight microsatellites. The S80/T satellite was built for CNES by Matra Marconi Space using the Surrey Satellite Technology Microbus (Uosat) bus.

COMPLEX OVERVIEW

Location

Kourou, French Guiana

Pad

Ariane Launch Area 2