Firewheel (Feuerrad)

Firewheel (with 4 Subsats on top) [MPE]

The Firewheel spacecraft was designed to make barium and lithium ion releases in the night magnetosphere at 9.5 and 7 R_e, respectively, and over North and South America. The main spacecraft was to carry 12 ejectable ion release containers. Diagnostic measurements were to be made on the main spacecraft and on four ejectable sub-payloads. These sub-payloads total approximately 200 kg. Optical measurements were to be made from the ground and from aircraft. The scientific objectives were:

study of the plasma processes controlling the formation and decay of a magnetic cavity;
study of the momentum exchange with the ambient dilute plasma and of the long-range magnetoshperic perturbations generated thereby;
modification of the interaction of trapped energetic particles with self-generated whistler mode and ion cyclotron waves; and
tracing of acceleration and redistribution of the injected ions in the inner magnetosphere.

The spacecraft would have been battery powered, with a lifetime of less than 48 hours.

Nation:	Germany
Type / Application:	Research
Operator:
Contractors:
Equipment:	?
Configuration:
Propulsion:	?
Lifetime:	2 days
Mass:	1080 kg
Orbit:

Satellite	Date	LS		Launcher	Remarks:
Firewheel (FIRE A)	23.05.1980	Ko ELA-1	F	Ariane-1	with Firewheel Subsat 1, 2, 3, 4, Amsat P3A, CAT 2