GFZ-1 is the first satellite mission designed and funded by the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ), Germany. The satellite was build in Russia and the launch and space deployment was by the Russian RKK Energia organization. On April 9, the satellite was launched from Russia on the PROGRESS cargo ship and docked with the MIR space station on April 11. The satellite will be utilized for high-resolution determination of the parameters of the gravity field. At an altitude of 385 km, it is the lowest satellite the global SLR network has ever attempted to track; not all of the international network is capable of tracking the satellite.
Note: There was no preflight test of the center of mass. The value listed was theoretically determined by two independent groups.