WIKA & MIKA

DIAL (contraction of "Diamant" and "Allemand" ("German" in French)), also called DIAL/WIKA (WIKA acronym for Wissenschaft Kapsel → scientific capsule), is the second artificial satellite made by Germany. This scientific satellite was developed within the framework of a cooperation agreement with the French space agency, CNES. The launcher also carried a MIKA technology capsule designed to measure the performance of the rocket during its flight. Despite a particularly short development time, WIKA, which had to operate for 26 days, transmitted valuable scientific data on the upper atmosphere for 2 months. The MIKA module suffered a failure from the very beginning of the launch due to the vibrations of the launcher. - WIKA aims to study the variations in time and space of the electron density in the upper atmosphere and the intensity of the Lyman-alpha radiation in the Geocorona. - The MIKA technology capsule is to measure the performance of the Diamant B launcher, which is making its first flight.