Double Star Mission

The Double Star Mission is a satellite based space mission sponsored by the European Space Agency and the China National Space Administration. It is the first space mission launched by China to investigate Earth's magnetosphere.

Overview

The Double Star mission uses two satellites in Earth orbit - each designed, developed, launched, and operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The first of the two spacecraft (Tan Ce 1, Chinese for 'Explorer 1', also known as TC-1) was launched December 29, 2003 at 19:06 UT. The second spacecraft (TC-2) was launched July 25, 2004 at 07:05 UT. This schedule enables Double Star to operate simultaneously with ESA's Cluster mission.

On October 14 2007, Tan Ce 1, after being decommissioned, burnt up during reentry into Earth's atmosphere.

External links

* [http://www.esa.int/science/doublestar ESA page]
* [http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=70 ESA Science and Technology page]
* [http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/spat/research/missions/space_missions/doublestarhomepage/ Imperial College Double Star website]