| Overview
European Remote Sensing Satellite No.1 (ERS-1) was launched into a solar-synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 780 km in 1991. It is an Earth Observation Satellite to mainly observe ocean, sea ice districution, sea surface wind, oceanic circulation, etc. and observes land areas with a high-resolution radar, too.
Synthetic Aperture Radar (AMI), Scatterometer (SCAT), Radar Altimeter (RA), Scanning Radiomter and Sounder (ATSR-M), Laser Reflector (LRR), Precision Ranging Equipment (PRARE) are equipped with the satellite and data other than those by SAR can be recorded by the data recorder. The satellite has three modes of operation in a recurrent period of 35 days as standard, 3 days, and 176 days flying at an altitude of 780 km in a solar-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 98.5°.
Characteristic
| Weight |
About 2.4t |
| Design life |
2-3years |
| Launch Vehicle |
ERS-1 / Ariane
ERS-2 / Ariane |
| Launch Site |
ERS-1 / Guiana Space Centre
ERS-2 / Guiana Space Centre |
| Launch Date |
ERS-1 / July 17,1991
ERS-2 / Apr 21,1995 |
| Orbit |
Type |
Sun synchronous sub-recurrent orbit |
| Altitude |
About 777km |
| Inclination |
About 98.5deg. |
| Period |
About 100.5min |
| Recurrent Period |
3day(Observation for ice)
35day(AMIImaging mode)
176day(Observation for sea) |
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