Miranda (spacecraft)

Miranda, also known as X-4, is a British satellite in low Earth orbit. The satellite was launched in March 1974 as an engineering test bed of technologies in orbit.

Miranda was named after a character in the Shakespeare play The Tempest, just like Prospero (spacecraft) and Ariel 1.

Operational
Miranda used propane cold gas thrusters for attitude control.

Sensors
It contained a Canopus star sensor to determine the reflectivity and interference caused by the propane.

Launch
Miranda was due to be launched by a British Black Arrow rocket, but due to the project's cancellation the payload was instead launched on the NASA-owned rocket Scout.

Mission
Designed as an engineering test bed for various technologies in orbit, Miranda carried various sensors and detectors.

Current status
The satellite is now non-active, but remains in low Earth orbit.