Subscribe with SteadyDodecapole 1, 2 (Porcupine 1, 2)
 Dodecapole 1 (booms not extended) |
 Dodecapole 1 (booms extended) |
The Dodecapole satellites, also known as Dodecahedron or Porcupine, were small passive radar calibration satellites built by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for the need for a large target satellite for Space Surveillance System calibration.
Each object is a 26 cm sphere with 12 telescoping hollow rods erected in orbit normal to the faces of an equivalent regular dodecahedron. Each rod is 1.27 cm in diameter and 7.62 m long.
| Nation: | USA |
|---|---|
| Type / Application: | Calibration |
| Operator: | Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) |
| Contractors: | Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) |
| Equipment: | |
| Configuration: | |
| Propulsion: | None |
| Power: | |
| Lifetime: | |
| Mass: | |
| Orbit: | 906 km × 940 km, 70.07 (#1); 1085 km × 1190 km, 90.03 (#2) |
| Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dodecapole 1 (Porcupine 1) | 1965-016H | 09.03.1965 | Va 75-1-2 | Thor-DM21 Agena-D | with Poppy 4A (Solrad 7B), Poppy 4B, Poppy 4C (GGSE 2), Poppy 4D (GGSE 3), SECOR 3, Surcal 4, OSCAR 3 | |
| Dodecapole 2 (Porcupine 2) | 1965-065C | 13.08.1965 | Va 75-1-1 | Thor-DSV2A Able-Star | with Transit-O 5, Long Rod, Tempsat 1, Calsphere 2, Surcal 5 |
Launch Sites:
- Va = Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA
References:
- R. Bresica: Upper-Atmosphere-Density Determination Using NRL Artificial Satellites
- Jonathan McDowell: Naval Research Laboratory Satellites 1960-1989, 1995
Further NRL calibration missions:
