SOLRAD 10


Solrad 10, also known Explorer 44, NRL-PL 165 and Explorer SE-C, was one of the SOLRAD series designed to provide continuous coverage of wavelength and intensity changes in solar radiation in the UV, soft and hard X-ray regions. The satellite also mapped the celestial sphere using a high-sensitivity X-ray detector.

Launch

Solrad 10 was launched on 8 July 1971 from Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, with a Scout rocket. When it was launched, it had an orbit with of apogee, of perigee, 51.1 degrees of orbital inclination and 1 hour and 35 minutes of orbital period.

Spacecraft

Solrad 10 was a 12-sided cylinder that measured in diameter and in height. Four symmetrically placed solar cell panels, hinged at the central section of the structure, served as the elements of a turnstile antenna system. 18 solar sensors were mounted pointing parallel to the spin axis of the satellite, which pointed directly at the solar disk. The plane of rotation shifted about 1°/day so that a stellar detector mounted to point radially outward from the axis scanned the celestial sphere. Data from all detectors were stored in a 54 kbs core memory and telemetered on command to the NRL Satellite Operations Center at Blossom Point, Maryland. Data were also transmitted in real time at 137.710 MHz.
Solrad 10 decayed and returned to the Earth on December 15, 1979.