Solar Maximum Mission

Solar Maximum Mission
	Solar Maximum Mission.
Mission type	Solar physics
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1980-014A
SATCAT no.	11703
Mission duration	Final: 9 years, 9 months, 17 days
Spacecraft properties
Bus	Multimission Modular Spacecraft
Manufacturer	Fairchild Industries
Launch mass	2,315.0 kilograms (5,103.7 lb)
Dimensions	4 by 2.3 metres (13.1 by 7.5 ft)
Start of mission
Launch date	February 14, 1980, 15:57:00 UTC
Rocket	Delta 3910
Launch site	Cape Canaveral LC-17A
End of mission
Decay date	December 2, 1989
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Eccentricity	0.00029
Perigee altitude	508.0 kilometers (315.7 mi)
Apogee altitude	512.0 kilometers (318.1 mi)
Inclination	28.5 degrees
Period	94.80 minutes
Mean motion	15.19

The Solar Maximum Mission satellite (or SolarMax) was designed to investigate Solar phenomena, particularly solar flares. It was launched on February 14, 1980. The SMM was the first satellite based on the Multimission Modular Spacecraft bus manufactured by Fairchild Industries, a platform which was later used for Landsats 4 and 5^[1] as well as the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.

After an attitude control failure in November 1980 it was put in standby mode until April 1984 when it was repaired by a Shuttle mission.

The Solar Maximum Mission ended on December 2, 1989, when the spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere and burned up over the Indian Ocean.^[2]

^ Suzuki, Masaharu (11 February 1999). "TOPEX/Poseidon – Description of Mission". University of Texas. Archived from the original on 20 November 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013. The satellite bus was taken from the Multimission Modular Spacecraft (MMS), which has been proven on previous MMS-based missions: the Solar Maximum Mission and Landsat 4 and 5.
^ Cite error: The named reference hao-smm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).