Editing CRRES (section)

{{Short description|NASA satellite}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox spaceflight|auto=all
| name                  = CRRES (P86-1)
| image                 = CRRES Satellite artist's view.jpg
| image_caption         = Illustration of CRRES

| mission_type          = 
| operator              = [[NASA]]{{\}}[[Space Test Program|STP]]
| website               = 
| COSPAR_ID             = 1990-065A
| SATCAT                = 20712
| mission_duration      = Final: {{time interval|25 July 1990 19:21|12 October 1991|show=ymd|sep=,}}

| spacecraft_bus        = 
| manufacturer          = [[Ball Aerospace]]

| dry_mass              = 
| launch_mass           = {{cvt|4383|kg|lb}}

| launch_date           = {{start-date|July 25, 1990, 19:21}}&nbsp;UTC 
| launch_rocket         = [[Atlas (rocket family)|Atlas I]] AC-69
| launch_site           = [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]] [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 36|LC-36B]]
| launch_contractor     = 
| entered_service       =

| disposal_type         = Contact lost
| last_contact          = {{end-date|October 12, 1991}}
| decay_date            =

| orbit_epoch           = May 31, 2016, 23:13:47 UTC<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.heavens-above.com/orbit.aspx?satid=20712 |title=CRRES - Orbit |work=[[Heavens-Above]] |access-date=June 2, 2016}}</ref>
| orbit_reference       = [[geocentric orbit|Geocentric]]
| orbit_regime          = [[Geosynchronous transfer orbit|GTO]]
| orbit_periapsis       = {{cvt|347.0|km|mi}}
| orbit_apoapsis        = {{cvt|33293|km|mi}}
| orbit_inclination     = 18.150°
| orbit_semimajor       = {{cvt|23198.0|km|mi}}
| orbit_eccentricity    = 0.7101031
| orbit_period          = 613.4 minutes
| orbit_RAAN            = 78.3921°
| orbit_arg_periapsis   = 251.6790°
| orbit_mean_anomaly    = 24.3699°
| orbit_mean_motion     = 2.45705642
| apsis                 = gee

| instruments           = 
| telescope_name        = 
| telescope_type        = 
| telescope_diameter    = 
| telescope_focal_length= 
| telescope_area        = 
| telescope_wavelength  = 
}}

The '''Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite''' ('''CRRES''') was launched on July 25, 1990, into a [[geosynchronous transfer orbit]] (GTO) for a nominal three-year mission to investigate fields, [[Plasma (physics)|plasmas]], and energetic particles inside the Earth's [[magnetosphere]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Combined Radiation and Release Effects Satellite: Spacecraft and Mission
|url=https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/3.55641|first1=M.H.|last1=Johnson|first2=John|last2=Kierein|journal=Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets |volume=29|number=4|date=August 1992|doi=10.2514/3.55641 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> As part of the CRRES program, the SPACERAD (Space Radiation Effects) project, managed by Air Force Geophysics Laboratory, investigated the radiation environment of the inner and outer radiation belts and measured radiation effects on state-of-the-art microelectronics devices.<ref>{{cite web|title=A History of the Space Radiation Effects (SPACERAD) Program for the Joint USAF/NASA CRRES Mission|first=Ruth P. |last=Liebowitz|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA251236.pdf|publisher=Phillips Laboratory|date=March 16, 1992|access-date=November 22, 2022}}</ref>

CRRES carried an array experiments including chemical releases and a complement of sophisticated scientific instruments to accomplish these objectives. Other chemical release active experiments were performed with sub-orbital rocket probes. The chemical releases 'painted' the magnetic and electric fields of earthspace with clouds of glowing ions. Earthspace was the laboratory, and the releases were studied with an extensive network of ground-, aircraft-, and satellite-based diagnostic instruments.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) program: A unique series of scientific experiments|last1=Reasoner|first1=D L|last2=Mccook|first2=M W|last3=Vaughan|first3=W W|url=https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5514657|date=January 1, 1990|osti=5514657 |access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Atlas I with CRRES satellite.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.55|CRRES aboard [[Atlas I]] ]]
Other magnetospheric, [[Ionosphere|ionospheric]], and [[cosmic ray]] experiments were also included onboard CRRES and supported by [[NASA]] or the Office of Naval Research. The chemical release project was managed by [[NASA]]/[[Marshall Space Flight Center|MSFC]] and utilized the release of chemicals from onboard canisters at low altitudes near dawn and dusk perigee times and at high altitudes near local midnight. The chemical releases were monitored with optical and radar instrumentation by ground-based observers to measure the bulk properties and movement of the expanding clouds of photo-ionized plasma along field lines after the releases occurred. In order to study the magnetosphere at different local times during the mission, the satellite orbit was designed to precess with respect to the Earth-Sun line such that the local time at apogee decreased by 2.5 minutes/day from 08:00 (LT) just after launch and returned to this position in nineteen month cycles.<ref name=crres/>

The CRRES spacecraft had the shape of an octagonal [[Prism (geometry)|prism]] with solar arrays on the top side. The prism is 1 m high and 3 m between opposite faces. Four of the eight compartments were for the chemical canisters and the other four housed the Space Radiation Effects and other experiments. The spacecraft body was spun at 2.2 rpm about a spin axis in the ecliptic plane and kept pointed about 12 degrees ahead of the Sun's apparent motion in celestial coordinates. The spacecraft was built by Ball Aerospace<ref>{{cite web|title=CRRES|url=http://www.astronautix.com/c/crres.html|access-date=November 23, 2022|publisher=Astronautix.com}}</ref> and was originally intended for launch by the U.S. Space Shuttle. The Challenger accident in 1986 resulted in a need to reconfigure the spacecraft and mission for launch by a medium expendable launch vehicle (Atlas I).<ref>{{cite web|last=Giles|first=B.L.|title=CRRES Combined Radiation and Release Effects Satellite Program|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19960001204/downloads/19960001204.pdf|publisher=NASA|date=June 1995|access-date=November 23, 2022}}</ref> Pre-launch and in-flight operations were supported by the Space Test and Transportation Program Office of the U.S. Air Force Space Division.<ref name=crres/>

Communications with CRRES abruptly stopped on October 12, 1991. Analysis presumed that an onboard battery failure resulted in loss of power to various systems resulting in a premature end to the mission about one year after launch instead of the original three-year plan.<ref name=crres>{{cite web|title=CRRES|url=https://science.nasa.gov/missions/crres|date=May 22, 2016|access-date=November 22, 2022|publisher=NASA}}</ref>

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