Genesis Solar Observation Spacecraft, USA
Key Data:
Start year
2000
Project type
Spacecraft
Base Country
USA
Estimated investment
$216 million
Completion
2001
Key Players:
Sponsor & Finance
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Lead contractor
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company-Astronautics Operations (LMAO),
Project Management
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Others
The Space and Atmospheric Science Division of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Dimensions:
Width of Spacecraft Deck
2.3 metres
Solar Panel Span (longest dimension of the spacecraft)
7.9 metres
Diameter of Sample Return Capsule
1.5 metres
Diameter of Science Canister
97.3 centimetres longest distance across
Height from bottom to top of sample return capsule
131 centimetres
Spin Rate on Station
One revolution every 37.5 seconds
Mass of spacecraft and launch rocket
494kg
Mass at launch, including propellant
636kg
Propulsion system
Blowdown monopropellant (hydrazine) with helium pressurant
Communications bandwidth
S-band telemetry reception at 15 kilobits per second during the halo orbit phase, and 120 bits per second during the cruise and return phases.
Data Rate during Sample Collection
15 kilobits per second
Max Power Capability
254 watts
Launch Vehicle
Boeing Delta 2 rocket
Launch Site
Kennedy Space Centre, Cape Canaveral, FL, USA
Launch Date
January 2001
Project Life Cycle (months)
36 months launch to recovery. The mission began in 1990, and all the recovered data and samples may last a century or more to analyse and process.
