Viking

---

General

Designation	16614 / 86019B
Launch date	22 Feb 1986
Country of origin	Sweden
Operator	Swedish Space Corp.
Mission	Scientific: ionosphere and magnetosphere study
Perigee/Apogee	818/13521 km
Inclination	98.8°
Period	261.6 min
Launch vehicle	Ariane V16

Designed to measure space plasma phenomena in the Earth's magnetosphere and produce UV images of the auroral zone. By September 1986 it had taken 20,000 images of the complete aurora.

Cost: $18 million

---

External resources

http://nis-www.lanl.gov/~mgh/viking_desc.html

sat-index articles

Technical data

---

---

Specifications

Prime contractor	Saab Space
Mass at launch	538 kg
Payload mass	60 kg
Diameter	1.9 m
Height	0.5 m
DC power	80 W
Stabilization	magneto-torquers (3 rpm)
Design lifetime	8 months

---

Payload

2 UV imagers & instruments to measure electric and magnetic fields, charged particles, and wave/particle interaction in the magnetosphere

Telemetry/data	S-band
Data rate	55 kbps
RF power	2.5 W

---