Orbital Glory - Manual

Glory
Earth Climate and Atmospheric Research Satellite
FACT SHEET
The Glory spacecraft incorporated
Orbital’s LEOStar™ bus design,
with deployable solar panels, 3-axis
stabilization, and X-band/S-band RF
communications capabilities.
Glory was to be part of the NASA
"A-Train" constellation of six Earth
science satellites flying in close
proximity.
Mission:
Collect data on the properties and
distribution of aerosols in the Earth’s
atmosphere, and on solar irradiance
for the long-term Earth climate record
Customer:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center -
Greenbelt, MD
QUICK FACTS:
Mission Description
Glory was a low-Earth orbit (LEO) scientific research satellite designed to achieve two major
goals:
• To collect data on the properties and distributions of aerosols in the Earth’s atmosphere; and,
• To collect data on solar irradiance for the long-term Earth climate record.
The data was designed to enable scientists to draw conclusions about the effects of aerosols on
Earth’s atmosphere and climate system, and to measure the effects of solar irradiance on Earth.
Glory was to accomplish these objectives by utilizing two separate instruments, the Aerosol
Polarimetry Sensor (APS) and the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM).
Glory was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), CA aboard Orbital's Taurus® XL
(3110) launch vehicle. The spacecraft was lost due to a launch vehicle failure.
Spacecraft
The Glory spacecraft employed Orbital’s LEOStar™ bus design, with deployable solar panels,
3-axis stabilization, and X-band/S-band RF communications capabilities. The structure consisted
of an octagonal aluminum space frame and a hydrazine propulsion module containing enough
fuel for at least 36 months of service.
The Glory Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor (APS) was
designed to take measurements to distinguish
various species of aerosols
Artist’s rendering of
the Glory satellite