TOMS launched
Allen Thomson (thomsona@netcom.com)
Tue, 2 Jul 1996 11:38:14 -0700
REDONDO BEACH, Calif.
--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
July 2, 1996
[EXCERPT]
Following a successful launch by a Pegasus XL launch vehicle, the
first satellite dedicated to mapping the Earth's ozone layer has been
successfully deployed in orbit.
The TRW-built Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer Earth Probe
(TOMS-EP) is expected to begin transmitting critical environmental
data to NASA scientists by the end of July.
The lightweight satellite was launched on July 2 at 12:48 a.m.
PDT over the Pacific Ocean, approximately 60 miles offshore from
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The Pegasus XL vehicle carrying
the TOMS-EP payload was released from an L-1011 aircraft at an
altitude of approximately 38,000 feet.
The three-stage Pegasus rocket successfully fired, sending the
satellite into a highly elliptical transfer orbit 214 miles (345
kilometers) at its closest point by 592 miles (955 kilometers) at its
farthest point. Over the next three weeks, TOMS-EP's orbit will be
circularized into its final 310-mile (500 kilometers) orbit using
the satellite's integrated on-board propulsion system.