This press release is issued by NASDA.
Results of 1st Apogee Engine Firing of DRTS (Kodama)
September 11, 2002 (JST)
National Space Development Agency of Japan
The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) conducted the 1st apogee engine firing of the Data Relay Test Satellite (DRTS), "Kodama" on September 11, 2002 at 9:21 (JST) by sending commands from the Tsukuba Space Center.
It was confirmed by telemetry data from Kodama that the apogee engine firing had been conducted successfully.
Kodama status is currently normal.
The orbital calculation results of the 2nd transfer orbit and the schedule of the 2nd apogee engine firing will be announced later than 3:00 (JST) September 12, 2002.
Supplement
The apogee engine will be fired in three times, Kodama will be changed its orbit through the second and the third transfer orbits to the drift orbit.
| 1) Transfer Orbit: | It is a tentative orbit where a satellite is placed into right after launch till it moves to a final operational orbit. |
| 2) Apogee Engine: | It is an engine to fire around the farthest point (apogee) of the transfer orbit and to raise the height of perigee of the satellite orbit for getting the satellite closer to the geostationary orbit. |
| 3) Drift Orbit: | It is the orbit where the satellite is placed into right before going into the geostationary orbit. In the orbit, the satellite looks like moving slowly (drifting) in the sky over the equator. |
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