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Hiten

NSSDC ID: 90-007A

Description:
MUSES-A (Mu-launched Space Engineering Satellite) was used to
verify the swingby technology of modulating the course and speed
of a probe by utilizing the gravity of the moon. After launch, the
satellite was renamed Hiten for a Buddhist angel who plays music
in heaven. It returned engineering data on trajectory, optical
navigation and an onboard fault tolerant computer. A joint ex-
periment with the Technical University of Munich, Germany,
detected cosmic dust. Hiten's first lunar swingby on March 19
brough it 16,472 km from the moon. As it crossed the moon's
orbital path, it released the 12-kg orbiter Haroromo. It continued
on its elliptical flight, simulating the orbital path of the proposed
Geotail spacecraft. 


Launch Information:
Launch Date/Time: 1990-01-24 at 11:46 UTC
Launch Site/Country: Kagoshima, Japan
On-orbit dry mass: 195.00 kg
Launch Vehicle: M-3SII 

Orbital Information:
Orbit: Flyby
Central Body: Moon
Closest approach date/time: 1991.062:00:00:00 (03 Mar.)
Periapsis: 8.65 RL
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