Orbital Sciences CorporationPegasus XLGran Canaria, Air launch to orbit
Minisat & Celestis Space Burial #1
Launched
April 21, 1997 · 11:59 UTC
Image: NASA/Laurie Losey
Summary
Minisat 01 / Celestis launched on an Orbital Sciences Corporation Pegasus XL from Gran Canaria, Air launch to orbit on April 21, 1997 at 11:59 UTC. It was Orbital Sciences Corporation's 16th launch, 1st this year and humanity's 4,137th orbital launch attempt. It was the 7th Pegasus XL flight and the 1st this year. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). Minisat-01, one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 570 × 589 km orbit inclined 151.0°. 2 objects from this launch are catalogued, one of them a payload.
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Vehicle
- Pegasus XL · Orbital Sciences Corporation
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Technology · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Milestone
- 7th Pegasus XL flight · 1st this yearOrbital Sciences Corporation's 16th launch1st this yearhumanity's 4,137th orbital launch attempt19th orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Minisat-01 · NORAD 24779 · 1997-018 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 2 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- MINISAT 01
- Object ID
- 1997-018A
- Epoch
- 1997-04-21 13:11:09 UTC
- Mean motion
- 14.98255086 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0013825
- Inclination
- 150.964°
- Ascending node
- 123.5274°
- Arg. of perigee
- 317.2165°
- Mean anomaly
- 42.8697°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 0
- B*
- 0
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: LEO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
2 catalogued: 1 payload, 1 rocket stage; none still in orbit
- Minisat-01 · NORAD 24779 · re-entered February 26, 2002
Pegasus F15 Stage 3 · re-entered May 20, 2002
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
Minisat 01 was the first satellite of Spain's INTA Minisat programme, a technology-demonstration platform carrying an extreme-ultraviolet spectrograph, a low-energy gamma-ray imager and a microgravity fluids experiment. The launch also carried the first Celestis memorial capsule with the ashes of 24 people, including Gene Roddenberry and Timothy Leary.
Pad
Gran Canaria, Air launch to orbit
1st launch from Gran Canaria, 1st this year · 15th from Air launch to orbit
1 launches from this pad · 52 from Air launch to orbit
under an hour after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did Minisat 01 / Celestis launch?
Minisat 01 / Celestis launched on April 21, 1997 at 11:59 UTC.
Where can I watch Minisat 01 / Celestis?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched Minisat 01 / Celestis?
Pegasus XL, flown by Orbital Sciences Corporation. Pegasus XL spec sheet
Where did Minisat 01 / Celestis launch from?
Gran Canaria, Air launch to orbit.
What orbit did Minisat 01 / Celestis reach?
Minisat-01, one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 570 × 589 km orbit inclined 151.0°.
How many satellites did Minisat 01 / Celestis launch?
1 payload from this launch is catalogued, no longer in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).