EROS A was launched on the Russian Start-1 launcher on December 5, 2000, from the Svobodny Launch Complex in eastern Siberia, to a Low Earth orbit (LEO) altitude of 480 km. The satellite provides commercial images with an optical resolution of 1.8 meters. The satellite orbits earth in a sun synchronous orbit, so that its imaged target is always in daylight. It always crosses the equator at 9:45am local time.
Its dimensions: height: 2.3 m, diameter: 1.2 m, head: 0.7 m. It weighed 250 kg at launch. It was built based on the military reconnaissance satellite Ofeq 3, which was previously built, also by IAI and El-Op, for Israeli government use.
Read more about this topic: EROS (satellite)
Famous quotes containing the word eros:
“Civilization is a process in the service of Eros, whose purpose is to combine single human individuals, and after that families, then races, peoples and nations, into one great unity, the unity of mankind. Why this has to happen, we do not know; the work of Eros is precisely this.”
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
“In America the chief accusation seems to be one of “Eroticism.” This is odd, rather puzzling to my mind. Which Eros? Eros of the jaunty “amours,” or Eros of the sacred mysteries? And if the latter, why accuse, why not respect, even venerate?”
—D.H. (David Herbert)