28493, 28494, 28495, 28496, 28497, 28498 - NANOSAT 1, ESSAIM 1, 2, 3, 4, PARASOL

NANOSAT 1, ESSAIM 1, ESSAIM 2, ESSAIM 3, ESSAIM 4, and PARASOL are six small satellites that were launched by an Ariane 5G rocket from Kourou at 16:26 UT on 2004 December 18.

NANOSAT 1, a Spanish nanosatellite, is a 15-kg, 20-W craft that will help maintain contact with the Spanish zone in Antarctica.

ESSAIM 1, 2, 3, and 4 are French military microsatellites, each of mass 120 kg. They are demonstration models to map the "electro-magnetic environment of the Earth's surface". The design of the next generation ESSAIMs will be based on the performance of the models.

PARASOL (Polarization and Anisotropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Science coupled with Observations from LIDAR) is a French (CNES) mini-satellite of mass 120 kg that will provide data on the physical properties of clouds and aerosols.

The orbital parameters of all these six microsatellites were close: period 98 min, apogee 666 km, perigee 657 km, and inclination 98.1 deg.

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 2004-12-18
Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5G
Launch Site: Kourou, French Guiana