HealthNet
{{Short description|Medical satellite communication service}}
{{distinguish|Health Net}}
HealthNet was a satellite communication service that provided healthcare workers in developing nations with access to current medical literature. It also allowed them to exchange information with each other and with colleagues in developed nations. It was operated by American nonprofit SatelLife.
Creation
The idea of SatelLife began in 1985 as a project to include healthcare organizations from the southern hemisphere in global health discussions. It was proposed by International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1108/eb045247| issn = 0264-0473| volume = 11| issue = 4/5| pages = 283–287| last = Myers| first = Glenda| title = Electronic health information services: a review| journal = The Electronic Library| accessdate = 2022-01-02| date = 1993-01-01| url = https://doi.org/10.1108/eb045247| url-access = subscription}} The organization was founded in 1989, chaired by Bernard Lown.{{cite news |last1=Rifkin |first1=Glenn |title=Bringing Advanced Medical Expertise to the World's Poorest Regions |work=The New York Times |date=22 January 1996 |location=Section D |page=5}}
Services
The HealthNet constellation provided email services, access to news, electronic conferences, and offline access to websites using a store-and-forward message scheme. The news included selected abstracts and summaries of major medical journals. It also included several newsletters published by HealthNet. Electronic conferences were for discussing medical topics electronically, including ProMED-mail.{{cite journal |last1=Assefa |first1=Shimelis Getu |title=Reaching the unreachable: The role of HealthNet Ethiopia in disseminating electronic health information resources |journal=Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology |date=Aug–Sep 2001 |volume=27 |issue=6 |pages=20–21}}
Constellation
= Healthsat-1 =
{{Main article|UoSAT-3}}
Healthsat-1 was launched in 1990 as UoSAT-3 (named for the University of Surrey, one of the mission sponsors). It was later transferred to SatelLife and renamed Healthsat-1.{{cite web |title=UoSat 3, 4, 5 (UO 14, 15, 22 / UoSAT-OSCAR 14, 15, 22) / Healthsat 1 |url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/uosat-3.htm |website=Gunter's Space Page |access-date=12 June 2022 |language=en}}
= Healthsat-2 =
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name = Healthsat 2
| image =
| image_caption =
| image_size =
| insignia =
| mission_type = Communication
| operator = SatelLife, Wavix
| COSPAR_ID = 1993-061E
| SATCAT = 22827
| mission_duration =
| spacecraft_type = Microsat-70
| manufacturer = SSTL
| dry_mass =
| launch_mass =
| power =
| launch_date = 26 September 1993, 01:45 UTC
| launch_rocket = Ariane-40 V59{{cite web |title=NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Telemetry Details |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/displayTrajectory.action?id=1993-061E |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov |access-date=30 December 2021}}
| launch_contractor = Arianespace
| orbit_epoch =
| orbit_reference = Geocentric
| orbit_regime = LEO
| orbit_periapsis = {{convert|797|km|mi}}
| orbit_apoapsis = {{convert|821|km|mi}}
| orbit_inclination = 98.6º
| orbit_period = 100.8 minutes
| apsis = gee
}}
Healthsat-2 (later WavSat-1) was purpose-built for the HealthNet constellation by Surrey Satellite Technology.{{cite web |title=Healthsat 2 → WavSat 1 |url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/healthsat-2.htm |website=Gunter's Space Page |access-date=30 December 2021 |language=en}} In 1993, it provided communications to CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent while it was in the Northwest passage, reported as the first use of Low Earth Orbit communications near the North Pole.{{cite journal |last1=House |first1=A. M. |title=Satellite Technology in Health Care: An Undeveloped Resource |journal=Selected Papers on Remote Sensing, Satellite Communications, and Space Science. Seminars of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications |year=1996 |volume=7 |pages=99–100 |bibcode=1996UNPSA...7...97H |url=https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1996UNPSA...7...97H/0000099.000.html |access-date=30 December 2021}} In 1998, SatelLife announced an agreement to share unused capacity from Healthsat-2 with Volunteers In Technical Assistance (VITA), who would operate Healthsat-2 as VITASat 1R.{{Cite web| title = VITASAT AGREES SATELLIFE SHARING ARRANGEMENT - ProQuest| accessdate = 2022-01-02| url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/221059780| id = {{ProQuest|221059780}}}}{{Cite web| title = Wavix Gets Contract For Store-And-Forward Terminals - Document - Gale General OneFile| accessdate = 2022-06-12| url = https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=gainstoftech&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA79482917&inPS=true&linkSource=interlink&sid=bookmark-ITOF}} Operations were transferred to satellite communications company Wavix, which continued operating the satellite as WavSat-1.