ASTRID 1 & 2

THE MISSION

Astrid-1 carried an Energetic Neutral Atom analyzer, an Electron Spectrometer and two UV imagers for imaging the aurora. The instruments were developed by the Swedish Institute for Space Physics in Kiruna.

The scientific mission for Astrid-2 was to explore electric and magnetic fields in the upper ionosphere, and to measure neutral and charged particles and electron density. The instruments were provided by the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and the Institute of Space Physics in Kiruna and Uppsala.

OHB SWEDEN CONTRIBUTION

OHB Sweden (Space Systems division of SSC at that time) had total responsibility for the entire Astrid-1 and Astrid-2 projects, from mission analysis and platform design, to ground station development and satellite operation.

CUSTOMER/USER

Astrid-1 & 2 were Sweden’s first two microsatellites, designed and developed on behalf of the Swedish National Space Agency.

LAUNCH DATE

Astrid-1 was launched piggyback on a Kosmos-3M launcher from Plesetsk in January 1995.

Astrid-2 was launched piggyback on a Kosmos-3M launcher from Plesetsk in December 1998 and was successfully operated in orbit for 7.5 months.