A comprehensive article about Midas Project with description of satellites can be found here: Missile Defense Alarm : The Genesis of Space-based Infrared Early Warning / C. Hall. - Quest 7 [1] 5-17 (1999). Those satellites remained connected with the last stage of launcher (Agena stage). Length of cylindrical satellite cca. 9 meters, dia cca. 1.5 meter. Equipped with infrared telescope with PbS detector array of different sizes (eg. first successful Midas 2 = 1960-006A = SSC 43 had array of 27 detectors only (Midas 1 was lost during launch), Midas 3 thru Midas 5 array of 175 detectors, next Midas 6 was lost during launch, Midas 7 thru 8 had array of 184 detectors), senzible in far infrared region (cca. 2.7 micrometers wavelength). The satellites were equipped with pair of solar panels connected to the engine compartment of the Agena. The gas nozzles of the Agena stage were used for stabilization and orientation of the entire object. Useful lifetime varied between few hours to few days (maximum for M.8 was 2 weeks only) mainly due to the problems with power supply systems (Midas 2 was lost on orbit due to stabilization system malfunction). The program continued further as Midas RTS-1 Series (first one was 1966-051A = SSC 2200 = Ops 1960) with three launches (only the last two launches were completely successful). 1960-006A Midas 2 (decayed 1974-02-07) 1961-018A Midas 3 1961-028A Midas 4 1962-010A Midas 5 1963-014A Midas 7 1963-030A Midas 9 1966-051A Midas RTS-1 F-1 (incorrect orbit, decayed 1966-12-03) 1966-077A Midas RTS-1 F-2 1966-089A Midas RTS-1 F-3 -- Mgr. Antonin Vitek, CSc. Office: Main Library, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Narodni 3, CZ-11522 Praha 1 - Phone: +420(2)21403255, fax +420(2)24240611 Home: Kytin 127, CZ-25210 Mnisek p. B., Czech Republic Phone: +420(305)592865 - Coord.: 14.2194 deg E, 49.8488 deg N, 442 m ASL My satellite home page: http://www.lib.cas.cz/www/space.40/index.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@lists.satellite.eu.org http://www.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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