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SHINSEI (MS-F2)

Mission Profile

Name (pre-launch in parentheses)		SHINSEI (MS-F2)
International Designation Code		1971-080A
Objectives		Observation of ionosphere, cosmic rays, shortwave band solar noise, etc.
Launch	Date	13:00, September 28, 1971 (JST)
	Location	Kagoshima Space Center (Uchinoura)
	Launch Vehicle	M-4S-3
Configuration	Weight	66 kg
Configuration	Shape	26-hedron in a sphere with a 75cm diameter [Click image for enlargement]
Orbit	Altitude	Perigee 870 km, Apogee 1,870 km
	Inclination	32°
	Type of Orbit	Elliptical
	Period	113 min
Scientific Instruments		Shortwave band solar radio monitor (RN) Cosmic ray monitor (CR) Ionosphere plasma monitor (ID) Geomagnetism attitude system (GAS) In-satellite environment monitor (HK) Telemetry transmitter (TM-SA) Data recorder (DR) Command receiver (CM-SA) Power supply (PS) Satellite timer (MS-SA) Nutation damper (ND)
End of Operation		June 1973
Operation		After insertion into orbit, Uchinoura received signals to confirm the ionosphere plasma probe deployment, solar-radio antenna extension, and nutation damper operation, and the satellite began operating. The electron-temperature probe was damaged immediately after the satellite was exposed to space and one of the CR's Geiger counters malfunctioned. All other instruments operated normally.
Results		Three onboard instruments found abnormal ionization around South America and solar-radio observation revealed the generation mechanism of shortwave-band solar-radio waves.