FORTE
The Fast On-orbit Rapid Recording of Transient Events (FORTE, occasionally stylized as FORTÉ; COSPAR 1997-047A, SATCAT 24920) is a lightweight satellite[1] which was launched at about 8:30 AM on August 29, 1997[2] into a circular Template:Convert low Earth orbit which is inclined 70 degrees relative to the Earth's equator,[3] using a Pegasus XL rocket. It was developed and launched by the Los Alamos National Laboratory in cooperation with Sandia National Laboratory, as a testbed for technologies applicable to U.S. nuclear detonation detection systems[2] used to monitor compliance with arms control treaties,[1] and later to study lightning from space.[4] The project was sponsored by the United States Department of Energy, and cost about US$35 million.[1] It utilizes optical sensors, RF sensors, and an "event classifier" in order to make observations, including monitoring Very High Frequency (VHF) lightning emissions in the ionosphere occurring from between Template:Convert above the surface of the Earth, and it will be a component of the VHF Global Lightning and Severe Storm Monitor (V-GLASS) system.[1][3] Its primary mission is to record and analyze bursts of RF energy rising from the surface of the Earth.[1] FORTE is Template:Convert tall, weighs Template:Convert, and is the first all-composite spacecraft, its framework being made entirely of graphite-reinforced epoxy. It consists of three decks with aluminum honeycomb cores, and composite facing to support the onboard instruments.[1]
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Template:National Reconnaissance Office Template:Orbital launches in 1997