Friday, December 31, 1976
Thursday, December 30, 1976
Tuesday, December 28, 1976
Thursday, December 23, 1976
Kosmos 459
1971-102A
A target satellite, DS-P1-M No. 5, was launched in Nov 1971 into a low orbit, again using the 65.8 degree inclination. This flight, Kosmos-459, seems to have simulated a recon satellite. It was intercepted by Kosmos-462 four days after launch.
| Kosmos-459 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 Nov 29 | 1730 | Launch by 11K65M | PL |
| 1732 | Stage 2 burn | ||
| 1738? | Stage 2 sep | ||
| 1971 Dec 3 | 0500 | 89.34 224 x 260 x 65.81 | |
| 1648? | Intercept by Kosmos-462 | ||
| 1971 Dec 27 | 1536? | Reentered | |
Tuesday, December 21, 1976
Saturday, December 18, 1976
Monday, December 13, 1976
Corona 113
1966-102A
KH-4A Mission 1037 (CORONA 113) was launched on 1966 Nov 8 by Thorad Agena D from Vandenberg. The RAE tables list the launch as a Thor Agena D, and the TRW Space Log gave it as a Thrust Augmented Thor Agena D; these errors have been propagated into a number of other lists, but primary sources all agree that the first stage was a Long Tank Thrust Augmented Thor, the second to be launched. Mission 1037 was the second Pan Geometry flight (PG-2) and the first CORONA to use solid motors for orbital adjust. The unusual 100 degree retrograde orbit was similar to that of the first Thorad Agena D launch. The two SRVs were successfully recovered, with some fogging on the photos. SRV-1 ended up about 100 km further downrange than expected.
| KH-4A Mission 1037 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 Nov 8 | 1953:02 | Launch by LTTAT Agena D | V SLC1W |
| 1957 | Launch (PER, error?) | ||
| 1954:44 | Castor II sep (T+1:42) | ||
| 1956:45 | Thor MECO (T+3:43) | ||
| 1956:52 | Thor VECO (T+3:50) | ||
| 1956:58 | Thor sep (T+3:56) | ||
| 1957:00 | Launch (PerfER, error) | ||
| 1957:04 | Agena burn (T+4:02) | ||
| 2001:05 | Agena MECO (T+8:03) | 89.54 175 x 331 x 100.07 (VCR) | |
| 1966 Nov 9 | 1700 | 89.42 172 x 318 x 100.1 (RAE) | |
| 1966 Nov 12 | 2210? | SRV-1 ejected rev 66 | |
| Retro 312 m/s | |||
| 1966 Nov 12 | 2244 | SRV-1 recovered midair (PER p21) | |
| 2247 | SRV-1 recovered (PER) | ||
| 24 14 N 155 59W | |||
| 1966 Nov 14 | 89.10 168 x 317 x 100.1 (PER) | ||
| 1966 Nov 14 | 0300? | OAS Orbit adjust rev 86 | 89.36 183 x 309 x 100.1 (PER) |
| 1966 Nov 20 | 2158? | SRV-2 ejected rev 195 | |
| Retro 304 m/s | |||
| 1966 Nov 20 | 2234 | SRV-2 recovered midair | |
| 22 03 N 148 54W | |||
| 1966 Nov 29 | CORONA/Agena reentered | ||
Saturday, November 20, 1976
Thursday, November 18, 1976
Tuesday, November 16, 1976
Monday, November 15, 1976
Sunday, November 14, 1976
Explorer 24
1964-076A
AD-B (Air Density Explorer B) was launched at 1709 on 1964 Nov 21 by Scout from Vandenberg. At 1719 on Nov 21 it reached a 116.30 min, 525 x 2498 km x 81.4 deg orbit. This time the beacon continued working until reentry on 1968 Oct 18.
The AD/Injun combination was launched as part of the IQSY.
| AD-B | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 Nov 21 | 1709:39 | Launch by Scout | V SLC 5 |
| T+1:14 St 1 burnout | |||
| T+1:20 St 2 burn | |||
| T+2:07 St 2 burnout | |||
| T+2:10 Fairing sep | |||
| T+2:12 St 3 burn | |||
| T+2:45 St 3 burnout | |||
| 1719 | T+9:59 St 3 sep | ||
| T+9:06 St 4 burn | |||
| 1719:10 | T+9:31 Stage 4 burnout | ||
| 1720? | Injun sep | ||
| 1725? | Balloon ejected from Injun | ||
| Balloon inflation | |||
| 116.30 525 x 2498 x 81.4 | |||
| 1968 Oct 18 | Reentered | ||
Payload:
- Balloon canister
- radio beacon
- Mylar balloon
Wednesday, October 20, 1976
Sunday, September 19, 1976
Wednesday, September 15, 1976
Tuesday, September 14, 1976
Corona 44
1962-026
KH-4 Mission 9037 was launched on 1962 Jun 23 by Thor Agena B from Vandenberg. It reached a 213 x 293 km x 75.1 deg orbit, lower than planned. The satellite carried the MURAL camera system and the Space Radio Project to measure celestial diffuse radio emission. To this point the HSRP flights detected only terrestrial interference. FTV 1129 also carried a number of ionospheric experiments which were intended to study the effects of the FISHBOWL atmospheric nuclear tests . The SRV was recovered after a two day flight.
| KH-4 Mission 9037 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 Jun 23 | 0030:47 | Launch by Thor Agena B | V Pad 4 |
| 0032 | Thor MECO (T+2:28) | ||
| 0032 | Thor VECO (T+2:37) | ||
| 0032 | Thor sep (T+2:47) | ||
| 0033 | Agena burn (T+3:14) | ||
| 0037:57 | Agena cutoff (T+7:10) | 209 x 315 x ? (VCR) | |
| 1962 Jun 23 | 0428 | 89.65 199 x 314 x 75.18 | |
| 1962 Jun 26 | 0228? | SRV ejected | |
| 1962 Jun 26 | 0241? | SRV recovered over Pacific on rev 49 | |
| 1962 Jun | 89.6 199 x 314 x 75.1 (SATCAT) | ||
| 1962 Jun 27 | 1200 | 89.58 213 x 293 x 75.1 (RAE) | |
| 1962 Jun 29 | 2010 | 89.27 209 x 267 x 75.1 | |
| 1962 Jul 3 | 2130 | 88.82 209 x 222 x 75.1 (RAE) | |
| 1962 Jul | 88.2 187 x 187 x 75.1 (SATCAT) | ||
| 1962 Jul 5 | 2253 | 88.24 187 x 187 x 75.1 | |
| 1962 Jul 7 | Last ionosphere data | ||
| 1962 Jul 7 | 1700? | CORONA/Agena reentered | |
Wednesday, August 25, 1976
Tuesday, August 24, 1976
Tuesday, August 17, 1976
Kosmos 173
1967-081A
The next DS-P1-Yu satellite, Kosmos-173 (DS-P1-Yu No. 8), was part of the main subgroup (Subgroup 1), with an inclination of 71 degrees and an apogee of 480 km.
| Kosmos-173 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 Aug 24 | 0500 | Launch by 11K63 | PL |
| Stage 2 burn | |||
| 0507? | Stage 2 sep | 92.1 277 x 480 x 71.0 | |
| 1967 Nov 3 | end of ops | ||
| 1967 Dec 17 | 1744? | Reentered | |
DMSP 3
1967-080A
The third Burner 2 launch, now carried out by Air Defense Command, went up on 1967 Aug 23 into an 834 x 892 km orbit from the Vandenberg pad, now renamed LE-6. It carried the F19 satellite which operated for 204 days for its primary mission, and transmitted for 3 years. F19 introduced system H, an IR radiometer similar to the Block 3 HRR.
| DSAP 03419 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 Aug 23 | 0441 | Launch by Thor Burner 2 | V LE-6 |
| 0443? | Thor sep | ||
| 0452? | Burner II burn | ||
| 0455? | Burner II sep | ||
| 102.2 834 x 892 x 99.0 | |||
Sunday, August 15, 1976
Explorer 11
1961-013
The 38 kg S-015 payload carried a Cerenkov detector to study gamma rays from space. Launched by a Juno II (AM-19E) from Cape Canaveral at 1416:38 on 1961 Apr 27, it reached a 487 x 1779 km x 28.8 deg orbit; the orbit was very close to the one planned. The satellite was a cylinder topped by a box, and remained attached to the stage 4 motor. Orbit mass was 43 kg including a 3 kg nutation damper weight. RTV motor is 0.15m dia 1.1m long with 5.8 kg empty mass, payload is 0.29m dia 1.1m long with 37 kg mass.
The telescope was tipped with a thin aluminium shield for micrometeorite protection which could be ejected on command. This shield is possibly the object 1961 nu 2 which was cataloged in Feb 1969.
S-15 was built by NASA MSFC; the gamma ray telescope was built at MIT. Management was by NASA GSFC.
Explorer XI, as it was now designated, transmitted until Dec 6. It did not detect significant gamma ray flux (about 22 photons were observed), and the true birth of orbital gamma ray astronomy had to wait until the COS-B mission in 1975. Explorer XI set an upper limit to the 50 MeV gamma ray background of 3x 10-4 photons/cm2/s/sr.
| Explorer 11 (S-15) | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 Apr 27 | 1416:38 | Launch by Juno II AM-19E | CC LC26B |
| T+2:58 MECO | |||
| 1419:05 | T+3:05 Jupiter sep | ||
| 1419:34 | Fairing sep | ||
| 1424:26 | T+8:26 Stage 2 burn, 495 km | ||
| Stage 3 burn | |||
| Stage 4 burn | |||
| 1424:56 | Orbit insertion, 496 km | 491 x 1799 x 28.8 | |
| Telescope cover sep? | |||
| 1961 Dec 6 | End of ops | ||
Payload:
- Cerenkov counter, 50-100 MeV (MIT/Kraushaar)
Wednesday, July 21, 1976
Monday, July 5, 1976
Monday, June 21, 1976
Thursday, June 10, 1976
Monday, May 24, 1976
Kosmos 179
1967-091A
The next test, Kosmos-179, was three days later and was launched at the same time of day.
| Kosmos-179 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 Sep 22 | 1405 | Launch by 8K69 | KB LC162 |
| 1407 | Stage 2 burn | ||
| 1410 | Stage 2 sep | 87.9 139 x 207 x 49.6 | |
| 1410 | Adapter sep | ||
| 1534? | Deorbit | ||
| 1535? | Retro sep | ||
| 1537? | Impact near GTsP4? | ||
Saturday, May 22, 1976
Tuesday, May 18, 1976
Saturday, May 15, 1976
Kosmos 309
1969-098A
Zenit-2 No. 80 flew an 8 day mission from Plesetsk in Nov 1969. The Kettering group reported that it had capsule telemetry like the Kosmos-208 class Gektor/Zenit-2M missions, although no capsule was tracked, and in 1996 it was revealed that a 3KS Nauka capsule had indeed been carried, the only time a Zenit-2 flight did this. Zenit-2 No. 80 landed 150 km NW of Tselinograd at 53 23 N 70 09 E.
| Kosmos-309 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 Nov 12 | 1130 | Launch by 11A57 | NIIP-53 LC41/1 |
| 1135 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 1139 | Blok-I sep | 90.1 203 x 384 x 65.4 (TASS) | |
| 1969 Nov 13 | 0216 | 90.05 166 x 387 x 65.3 | |
| 1969 Nov 14 | 0500 | 89.99 185 x 364 x 65.40 (RAE) | |
| 1969 Nov 17? | 3KS capsule separated. | ||
| 1969 Nov 19 | 0643 | 89.92 190 x 350 x 65.4 | |
| 1969 Nov 20 | 0512? | Retrofire | |
| 0537 | Landed | ||
Saturday, May 1, 1976
Monday, March 22, 1976
Tuesday, March 2, 1976
Sunday, February 15, 1976
Tuesday, February 10, 1976
Explorer 33
1966-058A
Explorer 33 was launched on 1966 Jul 1 at 1602 by a Delta E1 from Launch Complex 17A at Cape Kennedy. The three-stage Delta was meant to put the probe on a lunar intercept trajectory, and a Star 13 solid motor would insert it into a 1300 x 6400 km, 175 deg lunar orbit. The Delta second stage produced excess thrust and lunar orbit could not be reached. It was reported that the planned transfer orbit was 293 x 548920 x 28.8. This could be achieved with a 2.863 km/s burn of the FW4 at around 1621 UTC. A 23m/s overspeed would put IMP in a 300 x 853670 km orbit instead. The Star 13 retromotor was fired at 2032, placing the probe in a lower energy orbit. The burn was carried out at about 60000 km altitude, and slowed the probe by about 1 km/s.
| Explorer 33 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 Jul 1 | 1602:25 | Launch by Delta E1 | CK LC17A |
| T+0:43 SRM burnout | |||
| 1603:35 | T+1:10 SRM sep | ||
| 1604:56 | T+2:31 Thor MECO | ||
| 1605:00 | T+2:35 St 1 sep | ||
| 1605:01 | T+2:36 Delta S/N 20207 burn | 6:19 | |
| 1606:03 | T+2:51 Fairing | ||
| 1611:20 | T+9:10 Delta SECO | ||
| 1619:12 | Spinup | ||
| 1619:24 | T+16:48 Delta sep | 101.64 183 x 1489 x 28.8 | |
| 1619:26 | T+17:00 FW-4D burn 32s, at 425 km? | ||
| 1619:57 | T+17:32 FW-4D cutoff | ||
| 1620:41 | T+19:08? Despin yo-yo weights | ||
| 1620:51 | Paddles deploy | ||
| 1621:21 | Stage 3 sep | ||
| 1622 | Stage 3 tumble yo weight | ||
| 1622? | 293 x 860741 x 28.9 | ||
| 2232:57 | Star 13 burn | 15000? x 500000? x 28.8 |
| 2233:13 | Star 13 burnout | ||
| 1966 Jul 2 | 0033:47 | Star 13 sep | |
| 0800? | Pass EL1:4 | ||
| 1966 Jul 7 | 434000 km apogee 1 | ||
| 1966 Jul 8 | 35000 km lunar flyby | ||
| 1966 Jul 8 | 30532 x 494230 x 29.0 (SSR) | ||
| 1966 Jul 13 | 43000 km perigee 1 | 43000 x 475000 km x 7.4 | |
| 1966 Jul 15 | 40800 x 476233 x 7.5 (SSR) | ||
| 1966 Jul 21 | 475000 km apogee 2 | ||
| 1966 Jul 22 | 40805 x 476289 x 7.5 | ||
| 1966 Jul 29 | 40600 km perigee 2 | 40600 x 491000 km x 7.5 | |
| 1966 Jul 31 | 15900 x 435425 x 28.7 (SSR) | ||
| 1966 Aug 2 | 91500 km lunar flyby | ||
| 1966 Aug 2 | 491000 km apogee 3 | 60000 x 491000 km x 12.0 | |
| 1966 Aug 15 | 60000 km perigee 3 | 60000 x 514000 x 14.0 | |
| 1966 Aug 23 | |||
| 1966 Aug 24 | 508000 km apogee 4 | ||
| 1966 Sep 2 | 59000 km perigee 4 | 59000 x 508000 x 13.8 | |
| 1966 Sep 11 | 508000 km apogee 5 | ||
| 1966 Sep 20 | 56400 km perigee 5 | ||
| 1966 Sep 27 | Lunar flyby 2, 60000 km | ||
| XYZ(SE) = -57, 40, 0 | |||
| 1966 Sep 28 | XYZ(SE) = -65, 38, -5 | ||
| 1966 Sep 30 | XYZ(SE) = -60, 28, -16 | ||
| 1966 Sep 30 | 468000 km apogee 6 | ||
| 1966 Oct 6 | 76600 km perigee 6 | 76600 x 478000 x 21.8 | |
| 1966 Oct 12 | 79526 x 477378 x 21.7 (TLE) | ||
| 1966 Nov 20 | Lunar flyby 3, 59000 km | 43000 x 452000 x 22.0 | |
| 1966 Dec 16 | Lunar flyby 4, 51000 km | 30500 x 458000 x 27.7 | |
| 1967 Jan 13 | Lunar flyby 5, 58000 km | 26000 x 458000 x 35.1 | |
| 1967 Feb 7 | Lunar flyby 6, 56000 km | 37800 x 446000 x 43.3 | |
| 1967 Mar 6 | Lunar flyby 7, 58400 km | 90600 x 432000 x 48.5 | |
| 1967 Apr 28 | 98439 x 431337 x 49.2 | ||
| 1967 Apr 30 | 115000 km from Moon | ||
| 1967 May 27 | Lunar flyby 8, 45900 km | 98600 x 488000 x 41.8 | |
| 1967 Jun 7 | 36500 x 427500 x 30.9 (IFR) | ||
| 1967 Jun 10 | |||
| 1967 Jun 23 | 111800 km from Moon | ||
| 1967 Jul 13 | 20300 x 408200 x 28.9 (IFR) | ||
| 1967 Jul 31 | 98438 x 431334 x 49.2 (SSR) | ||
| 1967 Aug 16 | Lunar flyby 9, 28800 km | ||
| 1967 Aug 25 | Perigee | 63200 x 430000 x 37.3 (IFR) | |
| 1967 Sep 13 | 81800 km from Moon | ||
| 1967 Oct 20 | |||
| 1967 Oct 27 | 98439 x 431339 x 49.2 (TLE) | ||
| 1967 Dec 15 | 115679 x 472832 x 40.4 (SSR) | ||
| 1968 Jan 22 | 80166 x 484230 x 40.6 | ||
| 1968 Jan 26 | 80900 km from Moon | ||
| 1968 Jan 31 | 90292 x 478603 x 41.3 (SSR) | ||
| 1968 Feb 11 | 85228 x 481417 x 40.9 (SSR) | ||
| 1968 Feb 14 | 69500 x 480000 x 39.5 (IFR) | ||
| 1968 Feb 28 | 80165 x 484230 x 40.5 (SSR) | ||
| 1968 Apr 15 | 89110 x 481271 x 42.6 (SSR) | ||
| 1968 May 19 | 158600 x 558600 x 24.0 (predict) | ||
| 1968 May 31 | 89527 x 466159 x 44.6 (SSR) | ||
| 1968 Sep 15 | 78393 x 457886 x 58.8 (SSR) | ||
| 1968 Oct 10 | |||
| 1968 Oct 31 | 92958 x 461113 x 59.1 (SSR) | ||
| 1968 Dec 12 | 162227 x 479414 x 60.6 | ||
| 1968 Dec 31 | 168550 x 495137 x 60.5 (SSR) | ||
| 1969 Feb 15 | 162471 x 480118 x 60.6 (SSR) | ||
| 1969 Mar 31 | 267240 x 852531 x 56.7 (SSR) | ||
| 1969 Jul 31 | 267229 x 852493 x 56.7 (SSR) | ||
| 1969 Nov 25 | 416751 x 421611 x 34.7 | ||
| 1969 Dec 15 | 145372 x 668432 x 35.3 (SSR) | ||
| 1970 Jan 15 | 176127 x 662236 x 34.6 (SSR) | ||
| 1970 May 31 | 170656 x 656012 x 28.1 (SSR) | ||
| 1970 Jun 22 | 246128 x 638118 x 24.8 | ||
| 1970 Nov 30 | 196568 x 510727 x 23.4 (SSR) | ||
| 1971 Feb 28 | 239142 x 469015 x 24.8 (SSR) | ||
| 1971 Apr 1 | 294241 x 502196 x 24.0 | ||
| 1971 May 12 | 265678 x 480760 x 24.1 | ||
| 1971 May 31 | end of ops | ||
Saturday, January 31, 1976
Saturday, January 24, 1976
Explorer 30
1965-093A
NRL's Solrad 8 (SR 08) satellite was the first launched under NASA's auspices as part of the Explorer program. It had the NRL internal designation PL 145 and was given the NASA payload name Solar Explorer A and the post-launch designation Explorer 30. The satellite was launched as a special IQSY (International Quiet Sun Year) Solar Explorer project. Mass of SR VIII~was 57 kg. The satellite was a 24-inch Vanguard-derived sphere, spin-stabilized at 60 rpm.
Launch was on 1965 Nov 19 by Scout X-4 from Wallops Island. The orbit was 100.8 min, 704 x 891 km x 59.7 deg. Solrad 8 transmitted until 1967 Nov 20 and ended continuous science operations in Aug 1967; it was replaced by OGO 4.
| Explorer 30 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 Nov 19 | 0448:27 | Launch by Scout | WI |
| T+1:14 St 1 burnout | |||
| T+1:20 St 2 burn | |||
| T+2:03 St 2 burnout | |||
| T+2:11 Fairing sep | |||
| T+2:12 St 3 burn | |||
| T+2:45 St 3 burnout | |||
| T+10:22 St 3 sep | |||
| 0458:54 | T+10:27 St 4 burn | ||
| 0459:16 | T +10:49 St 4 burnout | ||
| 0500? | St 4 sep | 100.8 704 x 891 x 59.7 | |
| Yo-yo despin | |||
| 1967 Nov 20 | End of tx | ||
Payload:
- UV detector 1080-1350A
- UV detector 1225-1350A
- X-ray detector 1-8 A
- X-ray detector 1-8A, 0.5-3A (two detectors)
- X-ray detector 8-16A (two detectors)
- X-ray detector 0-20A
- X-ray detector 44-60A