RAX-2
RAX-2 (Radio Aurora Explorer 2) is a CubeSat satellite built as a collaboration between SRI International and students at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. It is the second spacecraft in the RAX mission. The RAX-1 mission ended after approximately two months of operation due to a gradual degradation of the solar panels that ultimately resulted in a loss of power. RAX team members applied the lessons learned from RAX-1 to the design of a second flight unit, RAX-2, which performs the same mission concept of RAX-1 (launched in November 2010) with improved bus performance and additional operational modes. Science measurements are enhanced through interactive experiments with high power ionospheric heaters where FAI will be generated on demand.
RAX-2 under construction | |
| Mission type | Auroral research |
|---|---|
| Operator | SRI International University of Michigan |
| COSPAR ID | 2011-061D |
| SATCAT no. | 37853 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | 3U CubeSat |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 28 October 2011, 09:48:02 UTC |
| Rocket | Delta II 7920-10C |
| Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-2W |
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | 10 April 2013 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Semi-major axis | 6,964.69 kilometers (4,327.66 mi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.0203467 |
| Perigee altitude | 451 kilometers (280 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 735 kilometers (457 mi) |
| Inclination | 101.71 degrees |
| Period | 96.41 minutes |
| Epoch | 24 January 2015, 22:19:36 UTC |
RAX-2 was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in October 2011 atop a Delta II rocket.