MSTI 3

---

General

Designation	23868 / 96031A
Launch date	17 May 1996
Country of origin	United States
Mission	Technology
Perigee/Apogee	425 km (sunsynchronous)
Inclination	97°
Period
Launch vehicle	Pegasus #11
Mass at launch	211 kg

Experimental satellite to collect data on short- and medium-wave infrared band, radiating from ground features, bodies of water and atmospheric bodies, such as clouds. Will demonstrate more sophisticated sensors and data gathering capabilities.

On 19 Oct 1997 the Army's Miracl laser was tested against it. Two beams were fired, the first of less than one second duration (in order to lock on to the satellite) and the second of about 10 seconds (in order to kill it). It is believed the experiment failed, the satellite was not destroyed.

---

External resources

http://www.actgate.com/msti3/msti3.html

http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/asat/miracl.htm
sat-index articles

Technical data

---

Built by Spectrum Astro Inc
MTSI 3 is about 3 m long and 1 m in diameter

Payload: MWIR camera, SWIR camera, and a visible imaging spectrometer (provided by Science Applications International Corporation (San Diego, CA)) The vehicle also has a 12 channel onboard GPS receiver for real time orbit determination.

---