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Article: NASA to build 'small explorer' satellites. (Solar, Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer, Submillimeter Wave Astronomy satellite, Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer, Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- April 15, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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NASA to build 'Small Explorer' satellites
Less than a year ago, NASA announced it would start working on a series of small, relatively inexpensive scientific satellites that it could develop in a far shorter time than the decade or more sometimes needed for elaborate projects such as interplanetary missions. This week, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., hosted a group of scientists just selected to work with the first four satellites in the series.
Each satellite should cost only about $30 million and weigh barely 400 pounds so that it can be launched on an inexpensive Scout rocket. Time is also a key factor: NASA started right out ...