Double Star Mission

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For other uses of the term double star, see double star (disambiguation).

Double Star is a satellite based space mission sponsored by the European Space Agency and the China National Space Administration. It is the first space mission launched by China to investigate Earth's magnetosphere.

[edit] Overview

The Double Star mission uses two satellites in Earth orbit - each designed, developed, launched, and operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The first of the two spacecraft (Tan Ce 1, Chinese for 'Explorer 1', also known as TC-1) was launched December 29, 2003 at 19:06 UT. The second spacecraft (TC-2) was launched July 25, 2004 at 07:05 UT. This schedule enables Double Star to operate simultaneously with ESA's Cluster mission.