SAGE [GDK]
Official name SAGE
Alternative name SAGE
Cospar ID 1979-013A
Norad ID 11270
Launch date 1979-02-18
Launch site WLPIS
Launch vehicle Scout-D1
Country/Organization USA
Type application Research
Operator NASA
RCS size LARGE
Decay date 1989-04-11
Shape Hex Cyl + 2 Pan
Mass (kg) 145.69
Diameter (m) 0.71
Height (m) 1.6
Span (m^2) 2
Lifetime 1 year
Equipment SAGE-I
Propulsion ?
Power 2 deployable solar arrays, batteries

The SAGE (Stratospheric Aerosol & Gas Experiment) spacecraft was the second of the Applications Explorer Missions (AEM). The small, versatile, low-cost spacecraft was made of two distinct parts:

  • the SAGE instrument module containing the detectors and the associated hardware, and
  • the base module containing the necessary data handling, power, communications, command, and attitude control subsystem to support the instrument mode.

The objective of the SAGE mission was to obtain stratospheric aerosol and ozone data on a global scale for a better understanding of the earth's environmental quality and radiation budget. The spacecraft was designed for a 1-year life in orbit. The spacecraft experienced power problems after 15 May 1979. Spacecraft operations continued until 19 November 1981. The signal from the spacecraft was last received on 7 January 1982, when the battery failed.

Later SAGE instruments were flown as instruments on other satellites: SAGE II on ERBS and SAGE III on Meteor-3M 1 (originally planned for EOS B).

Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
SAGE 1979-013A 1979-02-18 WLPIS Scout-D1