| SAPPHIRE | |
| Mission Type: | Communications |
| Operator: | USNAUniversity of Santa Clara |
| Cospar Id: | 2001-043D[1] |
| Satcat: | 26932 |
| Mission Duration: | 2 years and 6 months |
| Manufacturer: | Stanford University |
| Launch Mass: | 16kg (35lb) |
| Launch Date: | 30 September 2001, 02:40 UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Athena 1 LM-001 |
| Launch Site: | Kodiak LP-1 |
| Launch Contractor: | Lockheed Martin |
| Disposal Type: | Decommissioned |
| Last Contact: | 2005 |
| Orbit Epoch: | 30 Sep 2001 |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
| Orbit Altitude: | 794km (493miles) |
| Orbit Eccentricity: | 0.0 |
| Orbit Inclination: | 67° |
| Orbit Period: | 101 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
| Programme: | OSCAR |
| Previous Mission: | OSCAR 44 |
| Next Mission: | OSCAR 46 |
SAPPHIRE (Stanford AudioPhonic PHotographic IR Experiment, also called Navy-OSCAR 45) was a satellite built by the Stanford University students in Palo Alto, California.[1] The satellite was launched on September 30, 2001 together with Starshine 3, PICOSat and PCSat on an Athena 1 rocket at the Kodiak Launch Complex, Alaska, United States.
Its purpose was the training of students, the operation of an infrared sensor, a digital camera, a speech synthesizer and from 2002 the operation of an APRS digipeater.[2] He also served to train midshipmen of the US Naval Academy in the field of satellite control.
The satellite's mission ended in early 2005.