Program: Cluster

European scientific program. The 4 satellites composing it were lost on Ariane 5's maiden flight.

---

General

Designation	n/a
Launch date	4 Jun 1996
Country of origin	Europe
Mission	Scientific: Sun study
Launch vehicle	Ariane V88

The total cost was evaluated at 440 million Euros.

---

External resources

http://www.esoc.esa.de/external/mso/cluster.html

Technical data

---

---

Specifications

Prime contractor	Astrium (was Dornier)
Platform
Mass at launch	1200 kg
Payload mass	72 kg
Propellant mass	650 kg
Dry mass	550 kg
Diameter	2.9 m
Height	1.3 m
Solar array
Stabilization	spin stabilized (15 rpm)
DC power	EOL: 224 W (80 Ah silver cadmium batteries)
Payload power	47 W
Design lifetime	2 years
Telemetry	2-262 kbps

Tape recorder capacity: 1 gbit The final orbit was to be 25000/140000 km

---

Frequencies

Cluster 1	2242.000 MHz
Cluster 2	2249.000 MHz
Cluster 3	2277.000 MHz
Cluster 4	2270.000 MHz

---

Payload

STAFF ( Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Field Fluctuations)
EFW (Electric Fields and Waves)
WHISPER (Waves of High frequency and Sounder for probing of density by Relaxation)
WBD (Wide Band Data)
DWP (Digital Wave Processor)
FGM (Fluxgate Magnetometer)
EDI (Electronic Drift Instrument)
CIS (Cluster Ion Spectrometry)
PEACE (Plasma Electron And Current Analyser)
RAPID (Research with Adaptive Particle Imaging Detectors)
ASPOC (Active Spacecraft Potential Control)

---