26631 - EROS-A1

EROS A1 (Earth Resources Observation Satellite) is an Israeli photo-reconnaissance satellite that was launched by a START 1 rocket from the new launch site at Svobodni in Siberia at 12:30 UT on 2000 Dec 05. (It is the third launch from that site. The START 1 rocket is a modified RS-12M Topol ICBM, also known in NATO as SS-25.) The initial parameters of the sun-synchronous orbit were period 94.6 min, apogee 505 km, perigee 490 km, and inclination 97.3 deg.

The 250-kg (dry mass) triaxially stabilized spacecraft carries a black and white high-resolution (1.8-m) CCD camera, to obtain images (with terrain width of 12.6 km) of locations chosen by Israeli military or worldwide commercial clients, and downlink them at one of the 14 ground stations.

Alternate Names

Earth Resources Observation Satellite

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 2000-12-05
Launch Vehicle: ICBM RS-12M Topol or SS-25 Sickle, 3-stage SRM
Launch Site: Svobodniy, Russia