VesselSat-2 | |
Mission Type: | Ship tracking |
Operator: | LuxSpace (lessor) Orbcomm (operator) |
Cospar Id: | 2012-001B |
Satcat: | 38047 |
Mission Duration: | Planned: 3 years Achieved: 4 years |
Manufacturer: | LuxSpace |
Launch Date: | UTC |
Launch Rocket: | Chang Zheng 4B Y26 |
Launch Site: | Taiyuan LC-9 |
Orbit Epoch: | 31 October 2013, 18:34:19 UTC[1] |
Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
Orbit Regime: | Low Earth |
Orbit Periapsis: | 472km (293miles) |
Orbit Apoapsis: | 484km (301miles) |
Orbit Inclination: | 97.43 degrees |
Orbit Period: | 94.02 minutes |
Apsis: | gee |
VesselSat-2 (aka Orbcomm FM43, V2) was a Luxembourgian microsatellite built and owned by LuxSpace, and operated by Orbcomm under lease. It carried a receiver for Automatic Identification System signals, used to track ships at sea. VesselSat-2 was the second of two VesselSat spacecraft (see VesselSat-1), which were built by LuxSpace for Orbcomm, as replacements for the AIS capabilities of the failed Orbcomm-QL spacecraft.[2]
VesselSat-2 was launched as a secondary payload on a Long March 4B carrier rocket which was carrying Ziyuan 3. The launch occurred at 03:17 UTC on 9 January 2012,[3] from Launch Complex 9 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre, and was the first orbital launch of the year.[4]