Double Star (satellite)

Double Star

Names	Tan Ce (Explorer)
Mission type	Earth observation
Operator	CNSA · ESA
COSPAR ID	2003-061A (TC-1) 2004-029A (TC-2)
SATCAT no.	28140 (TC-1) 28382 (TC-2)
Website	ESA website (archive)
Mission duration	3 years, 9 months, 15 days (TC-1) 20 years and 6 days (TC-2)
Start of mission
Launch date	29 December 2003 (2003-12-29), 19:06 UTC (TC-1) 25 July 2004 (2004-07-25), 07:05 UTC (TC-2)
Rocket	Long March 2C
Launch site	Xichang Satellite Launch Center
End of mission
Disposal	Deorbited (TC-1)
Decay date	14 October 2007 (2007-10-14) (TC-1)
ESA quadrilateral mission insignia for the Double Star mission.

Double Star was a joint satellite based space mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). It was the first space mission launched by China to investigate Earth's magnetosphere. It consisted of two satellites: an Equatorial satellite (TC-1) and Polar satellite (TC-2). Double Star followed in the footsteps of ESA's Cluster mission by studying the effects of the Sun on the Earth's environment. After a nominal mission of one year (from the launch of TC-2 in July 2004), the Double Star mission was extended twice by both agencies until the end of September 2007.^[1]