Tan Ce 1

Also called Double Star 1 or TC 1 or DSP E

---

General

Designation	28140 / 03061A
Launch date	29 Dec 2003
Country of origin	China
Mission	Scientific: magnetosphere study
Perigee/Apogee	570/78970 km
Inclination	28.5°
Period
Launch vehicle	Long March 2C #73
Launch site	Xichang

Will carry Chinese and European scientific experiments identical to those on Cluster (were spare).
The second solid boom (with STAFF-DWP) did not deploy on the first try.

This is the equatorial satellite; a polar one will follow in 2004.

In May 2005, the mission was extended till Dec 2006.

---

External resources

http://www.esa.int/export/esaSC/120381_index_0_m.html

sat-index articles

Technical data

---

---

Specifications

Prime contractor	China National Space Administration
Platform
Mass at launch	330 kg
Mass in orbit
Dimension	2.1 m diameter x 1.4 m height
Solar array
Stabilization	spin-stabilized, 15 rpm
DC power	200 W
Design lifetime	18 months

It carries eight instruments to probe Earth's magnetosphere, five from ESA and three from CNSA. The data from all instruments will be stored on-board and dumped over three ground stations: Shanghai and Beijing in China, and Villafranca in Spain.

ASPOC (Active Space Potential Control) is to maintain the potential of the spacecraft at a low voltage. The tendency to attain high positive voltage due mainly to photoelectric emission is sought to be neutralized by shooting out positive indium ions. The spacecraft potential is continuously monitored by the PEACE instrument.

PEACE (Plasma Electron And Current Experiment) infers the positive potential of the spacecraft by counting the number and speed of the thermal electrons that impinge on it. This measurement is an input to the operation of ASPOC.

FGM (Flux Gate Magnetometer) is located on a 3.5 meter long boom and measures the magnetic field along the orbit at a rate up to 67 samples per second.

HIA (Hot Ion Analyzer) measures the distribution function of ions in the magnetosphere and the solar wind, during each spin period of four seconds.

STAFF-DWP (Spatio-Temporal Analyzer of Field Fluctuations and Digital Wave Processor) The data from the magnetometer consists of two components. The low frequency components are transmitted to the ground for analysis. The higher frequency components are best analyzed on-board by a DWP and STAFF and the result telemetered to the ground stations.

HEED (High Energy Electron Detector) measures the flux of energetic electrons in the magnetosphere. CSSAR instrument. (CSSAR stands for Center for Space Science and Applied Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing)

HEPD (High Energy Proton Detector) detects energetic protons in the magnetosphere and solar wind. CSSAR instrument.

HID (Heavy Ion Detector) detects heavy ions of AMU>4. CSSAR instrument.

---