BREM-SAT - First Flight Results

On February 3, 1994, the small University satellite BREM-SAT was carried into orbit by the Space Shuttle Discovery. The spacecraft waited six days in its Get Away Special (GAS) Container before it was deployed in its initial 350 km high circular orbit. The orbit has 57° inclination, allowing operations from the ground station at the Drop Tower in Bremen. BREM-SAT carries six experiments with different scientific objectives. Experiments using the micro-g environment are operated as well as experiments investigating the low earth orbital environment. Two sensors measure the micrometeorite and dust flux and the atomic oxygen flux. In addition, re-entry experiments will be carried out during the last hours before re-entry, which is expected in January 1995. One of these experiments determines the gas/surface interaction; the other experiment uses deployable temperature and pressure sensors for measurements shortly before re-entry. The experience of operating a small, but complex and versatile platform with ambitious objectives will be described in detail. First results of the spacecraft operations, especially the attitude control operations, are presented.