Orbital FORMOSAT-3 User Manual
LEO
Earth Science/
Remote Sensing
FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC
Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC)
FACTS AT A GLANCE
Mission Description
The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC program is an international collaboration between Taiwan and the United
States that employs a constellation of six remote sensing microsatellites to collect atmospheric data for
weather prediction and for ionosphere, climate and gravity research. Data from the satellites is available
to the international scientic community in near real-time. FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC was launched aboard
Orbital’s Minotaur I space launch vehicle on April 15, 2006.
Orbital was responsible for constellation design and analysis, development of the spacecraft bus,
payload instrument development, and oversight of components made by Taiwan local vendors. Orbital
provided assistance with system integration, satellite integration and testing in Taiwan, early on-orbit
checkout and satellite positioning.
FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC is the third
space mission in the history of Taiwan’s
national space program and the rst to
employ a constellation of microsatellites.
Originally developed for the ORBCOMM
data communications network,
Orbital’s MicroStar™ spacecraft has
been adapted to missions for NASA,
DARPA and several commercial and
international customers, such as
Taiwan’s NSPO.
Mission:
• Constellation Observing System for
Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate
• Constellation of six MicroStar
spacecraft to collect atmospheric
sounding data for scientic research
and operational testing
Customer:
National Space Organization –
Hsinchu City, Taiwan
Six FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellites mated
to the Minotaur launch vehicle.
FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC
Specications
Spacecraft
Launch Mass: 416 kg (917 lb.) for all six spacecraft
Redundancy: Single String
Power: 46 W continuous
Mission Life: 2 years (5 year expendables)
Orbit: >700 km (800 km goal) circular, raised from
475 km, 72
spacecraft spaced 24
Attitude Control: ±5
°
roll & yaw, ±-2° pitch (1σ)
Communications: S-band Uplink, S-band Downlink
Status: Operational
Payload
GPS Occultation Experiment
Tri-band Beacon
Tiny Ionospheric Photometer
Launch
Launch Vehicle: Minotaur I (all six spacecraft)
Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Date: April 15, 2006
°
inclination, 6 planes of 1
°
apart
Mission Partners
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Constellation design and analysis, spacecraft bus
development, payload instrument development, launch
operations, and Minotaur launch vehicle
National Space Organization (Hsinchu City, Taiwan)
Mission management, spacecraft integration and test,
launch/mission operations
Orbital’s Minotaur I Space Launch Vehicle
Developed for the U.S. Air Force’s Orbital/Suborbital
Program (OSP), the Minotaur I Space Launch Vehicle
(SLV) is a low-cost, four-stage rocket using a combination
of U.S. Government-supplied Minuteman II motors and
proven Orbital space launch technologies.
Minotaur I made its inaugural ight in January 2000,
successfully delivering a number of small military and
university satellites into orbit. Less than six months later,
Minotaur I conducted a second successful mission with
the launch of a technology demonstration satellite for
the Air Force Research Laboratory. To date, Minotaur I
has conducted 11 launches with 100 percent success
launching 62 satellites into orbit.
Minotaur I is capable of launching from a government pad
at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California, as well
as from commercial spaceports at VAFB; Wallops Island,
Virginia; Cape Canaveral, Florida; and Kodiak Island,
Alaska.
Orbital Sciences Corporation
45101 Warp Drive
©2014 Orbital Sciences Corporation FS003_04_2998
•
Dulles, Virginia 20166
•
www.orbital.com
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