TheSTARSHINE (Student Tracked Atmospheric Research Satellite Heuristic International Networking Experiment) series of three (later, a fourth one was also launched) artificialsatellites were student participatory missions sponsored by theUnited States Naval Research Laboratory (the fourth STARSHINE was a NASA mission).
The STARSHINE launches were considered launches of opportunity.
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STARSHINE 1 was a spherical satellite that was fitted with almost nine hundred small mirrors polished by students from around the world. It was launched June 5, 1999 from theSpace ShuttleDiscovery onSTS-96.[1]
Once launched, a network of over 20,000 students from eighteen countries tracked the satellite by observing sunlight glinting off the mirrors and networked their observations via the Internet. The students used these observations to calculate air drag, solar activity, and other orbit related properties of the satellite.[2]
STARSHINE 1 re-entered and burned up in the Earth's upper atmosphere on February 18, 2000.[3]
STARSHINE 2 and3 had systems added to impart spin to these satellites in an effort to improve the solar-reflected flash rate, as well as a number of laserretroreflectors to introduce the students tosatellite laser ranging.[4] The satellites were constructed largely from spare flight hardware.
STARSHINE 2 launched December 5, 2001 from the Space ShuttleEndeavour onSTS-108.[5] It re-entered and burned up in the Earth's upper atmosphere on April 26, 2002.[6]
STARSHINE 3 has the same systems as role as STARSHINE-2. It was launched on September 29, 2001 as part of theKodiak StarAthena I mission.[7]
In November 2001, the amateur radio payload onStarshine 3 was designatedSTARSHINE-OSCAR-43, orSO-43.[8] STARSHINE-3 re-entered and burned up in the Earth's upper atmosphere on January 21, 2003.[9] It had made 7434 revolutions around the Earth since its launch.[10]
A further fourth satellite,STARSHINE 4, was launched aboard the maiden flight ofVirgin Orbit'sLauncherOne rocket on 25 May 2020. The launch vehicle failed five seconds after deployment from the carrier aircraft and the satellite did not reach orbit.[11]
