Sunday, December 25, 1977
Saturday, December 24, 1977
Discoverer 32
1961-027
CORONA 32 (KH-3 mission 9025) was another successful flight, with the SRV recovered over the Pacific after a one day flight. The supplementary science experiments, DRP Kit No. 3B, included an ionospheric beacon and plasma probes, as well as a SECOR geodetic transponder. They continued transmitting through reentry on Nov 13.
| KH-3 Mission 9025 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 Oct 12 | 1922 | Launch by Thor Agena B | V |
| 1924 | Thor MECO (T+2:28) | ||
| 1924 | Thor VECO (T+2:37) | ||
| 1924 | Thor sep (T+2:43) | ||
| 1925 | Agena burn (T+3:23) | ||
| 1929 | Agena cutoff (T+7:19) | ||
| 231 x 404 x ? (VCR) | |||
| 1961 Oct 14 | 0021 | 229 x 401 x 81.63 (OE) | |
| 1961 Oct 14 | 0224 | 90.78 234 x 392 x 81.7 | |
| 1961 Oct 14 | 0230 | 90.84 234 x 395 x 81.7 (RAE) | |
| 1961 Oct 14 | 1129 | 229 x 399 x 81.63 (OE) | |
| 2205 | 229 x 398 x 81.63 (OE) | ||
| 2237 | SRV ejected, deorbit (rev 18) | ||
| 1961 Oct 14 | 2307 | SRV recovered in midair, Pacific | |
| 1961 Oct | 90.7 233 x 391 x 81.6 (SATCAT) | ||
| 1961 Oct 15 | Agena lost stabilization, rev 30 | ||
| 1961 Oct 16 | 0723 | 90.73 234 x 387 x 81.7 | |
| 1961 Oct 16 | AlphaGamma3 reentered | 90.1 233 x 328 x 81.3 | |
| 1961 Oct 19 | 1100 | 90.62 234 x 376 x 81.7 | |
| 1961 Nov 10 | 0803 | 88.87 204 x 232 x 81.6 | |
| 1961 Nov 13 | CORONA/Agena reentered, still transmitting | ||
| 1961 Nov 25 | AlphaGamma2 reentered | ||
Thursday, December 22, 1977
Wednesday, December 21, 1977
Tuesday, December 20, 1977
Sunday, December 18, 1977
Friday, December 16, 1977
Saturday, December 10, 1977
Friday, December 2, 1977
Tuesday, November 29, 1977
Monday, November 28, 1977
Monday, November 21, 1977
Friday, November 18, 1977
Kosmos 962
1977-107A
| Kosmos-962 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 Oct 28 | 1600 | Launch by 11K65M | PL |
| T+2:10 St 1 MECO | |||
| T+2:12 St 1 sep | |||
| T+2:12 St 2 burn 59km | |||
| T+2:27 Fairing sep 76km | |||
| 1608? | T+8:03 St 2 MECO 150 km | 150 x 1003? x 83 | |
| T+1:02:19 St 2 MES2 | |||
| T+1:02:30 St 2 MECO2 | |||
| 1703? | T+1:02:50 St 2 sep | ||
| 1977 Oct 28 | 104.9 968x1012x83.0 | ||
Wednesday, October 26, 1977
Tuesday, October 25, 1977
Tuesday, October 18, 1977
Saturday, October 15, 1977
Monday, September 26, 1977
Friday, September 23, 1977
Sunday, September 18, 1977
Wednesday, September 14, 1977
Monday, September 12, 1977
Thursday, August 25, 1977
Kosmos 706
1974-106A
| Kosmos-701 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 Dec 27 | 0910:00 | Launch by 11A57 | KB |
| 0914 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 0918 | Blok-I sep | ||
| 1974 Dec 27 | 1631 | 89.74 203 x 320 x 71.4 | |
| 1974 Dec 28 | 0859 | 89.74 208 x 314 x 71.4 | |
| Lower orbit | |||
| 1626 | 89.34 170 x 313 x 71.4 | ||
| 1975 Jan 1 | 0518 | 89.27 170 x 306 x 71.4 | |
| Orbit raise | |||
| 1415 | 89.57 170 x 335 x 71.4 | ||
| 1975 Jan 5 | 0151 | 89.50 170 x 329 x 71.4 | |
| Orbit raise | |||
| 1975 Jan 6 | 0742 | 89.67 170 x 346 x 71.4 | |
| 1975 Jan 8 | Engine sep | ||
| 1975 Jan 9 | 0257 | 89.60 169 x 339 x 71.4 | |
| 1975 Jan 10 | |||
| 0551? | Deorbit | ||
| 0601? | PO sep | ||
| 0605? | Entry | ||
| 0621? | Landed | ||
Friday, August 19, 1977
Tuesday, August 16, 1977
DMSP 6530
1972-089A
The F30/Block 5B F-3 satellite, DMSP 6530, was launched on 1972 Nov 9 by Thor Burner 2A from Vandenberg. It carried the prototype of the SSE radiometer, an eight channel scanning filter radiometer with six channels in the 15 micron CO2 band, one in the 12 micron atmospheric window, and one in the 20 micron H20 band. The SSE was used to measure vertical temperature profiles. The SSJ electron spectrometer studied auroral electrons from 0.05 to 8.2 keV.
| DMSP 6530 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Nov 9 | 0323:46 | Launch by Thor Burner 2A | V SLC10W |
| 0326 | Thor MECO | ||
| 0327? | Star 37 burn 42s | ||
| 0327? | Star 37 sep | ||
| 0337? | Star 26 burn 18s | ||
| 0338? | Star 26 sep | ||
| 101.8 813 x 872 x 98.7 | |||
| 1973 Feb 1 | Declared operational | ||
| 1973 Jun 21 | Sensor failure | ||
| 1975 May 31 | End of operations | ||
Friday, August 12, 1977
Transit O-10
1966-076A
O-10 (NNS 30100, Scout launch N-9), launched in Aug 1966, was still in limited operation in May 1970.
| NNS O-10 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 Aug 18 | 0225:02 | Launch by Scout A S149C | V SLC5 |
| T+1:17 Stage 2 burn theta=48 deg az=182 | |||
| T+2:01 Stage 3 burn | |||
| T+2:37? Stage 3 burnout | |||
| T+12:12 Stage 4 burn | |||
| 0237 | T+12:40? Stage 4 burnout | ||
| 106.9 1056 x 1101 x 88.9 | |||
Wednesday, August 10, 1977
Tuesday, August 9, 1977
Wednesday, July 20, 1977
Friday, July 15, 1977
Tuesday, June 28, 1977
Saturday, June 18, 1977
Wednesday, June 15, 1977
Sunday, June 12, 1977
Friday, June 10, 1977
Thursday, June 2, 1977
Transit 5A-1
1962-071A
VA-1 was the first operational prototype. It failed on the day of launch due to a problem with the command receiver. Mass was 59 kg. Octagon bus 0.45m dia 0.25m high with 5.5m span solar panels.
One newspaper report gave the time as 2126 UTC Dec 8 (1526 CST) and another gives 1726 PST (0126 UTC Dec 9). The Blue Scout Jr launch that day was 'later the same night' and 'within a few hours' thus probably between about 0300 UTC and 1400 UTC.
| Transit VA-1 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 Dec 19 | 0125:45 | Launch by Scout X-3 | PA LC-D |
| T+1:08? St 1 Algol burnout | |||
| T+1:25? St 2 Castor burn | |||
| T+2:07? St 2 burnout | |||
| T+2:13? Fairing | |||
| T+2:13? St 3 Antares burn | |||
| T+2:45? St 3 burnout | |||
| T+9:40? St 3 sep | |||
| T+9:41? St 4 Altair burn | |||
| 0135? | 698 x 725 x 90.62 | ||
| 1962 Dec 19 | End of transmissions | ||
Payload:
- Ultrastable oscillators, nav beacon Z 150/400 MHz
Saturday, May 28, 1977
Thursday, May 26, 1977
Tuesday, May 24, 1977
Sunday, May 22, 1977
Wednesday, May 18, 1977
Sunday, May 15, 1977
Alouette
1962-049A
The first Canadian satellite was Alouette (`swallow'), an ionospheric topside sounder launched by Thor Agena B from pad 75-1-1 at Vandenberg in 1962. NASA provided the launch vehicle and the satellite had the NASA designation S-27.. The satellite used an ionospheric beacon to radio signals through the ionosphere to the ground, allowing observers to measure the density of the ionosphere. Two pairs of sounding antennae were deployed, one 46m span and the other 23m span. Alouette 1 was built by De Havilland Canada.| Alouette | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 Sep 29 | 0605 | Launch by Thor Agena B | V 75-1-1 |
| 0607 | Thor MECO (T+2:24) | ||
| 0607 | Thor VECO (T+2:33) | ||
| 0607 | Thor sep (T+2:42) | ||
| 0608 | Agena burn (T+3:05) | ||
| 0612 | Agena cutoff (T+7:01) | ||
| 0700 | Agena burn 2 (T+55:20) | ||
| 0700 | Agena cutoff (T+55:23) | 105.4 996 x 1032 x 80.6 (VCR) | |
| 1900 | 105.52 996 x 1032 x 80.5 (RAE) | ||
| 1971 Dec 16 | End of transmissions | ||
Saturday, May 14, 1977
Ariel 4
1971-109A
The UK Science Research Council managed the UK 4 ionospheric study satellite, named Ariel 4 after launch. Ariel 4's structure was similar to Ariel 3. The satellite was controlled from NASA's Winkfield ground station.
| Ariel 4 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 Dec 11 | 2047:01 | Launch by Scout B-1 | V SLC5 |
| 2048 | Algol burnout T+1:20 | ||
| 2048 | Castor burn T+1:21 | ||
| 2049 | Castor burnout T+2:01 | ||
| T+2:21 Heat shield | |||
| 2049 | Antares burn T+2:23 | ||
| 2049 | Antares burnout T+2:58 | ||
| 2050 | Coast T+3:04 | ||
| 2056 | Altair burn T+9:09 | ||
| 2056 | Altair burnout T+9:44 | ||
| 2058? | Yo yo deploy? | ||
| Deploy booms | |||
| 2101:35 | T+14:34 Payload sep | ||
| Spin at 50 rpm | |||
| 95.4 477 x 593 x 83.0 | |||
Thursday, April 28, 1977
Sunday, April 24, 1977
Monday, April 18, 1977
Saturday, April 16, 1977
Tuesday, April 12, 1977
Saturday, April 9, 1977
Tuesday, March 29, 1977
Monday, March 28, 1977
Saturday, March 26, 1977
Friday, March 25, 1977
Thursday, March 24, 1977
Wednesday, March 23, 1977
Thursday, March 10, 1977
Discoverer 35
1961-030A
CORONA 35 (KH-2 mission 9028), was another successful mid-air recovery and tested improvements to the system. It was launched on 1961 Nov 15 and the SRV was recovered after one day. Orbit mass was 1175 kg. The photos were grainy but better quality than previous KH-3 flights (McDonald and USGS give this flight as KH-3, but Itek lists it as KH-2.
| KH-3 Mission 9028 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 Nov 15 | 2122:46 | Launch by Thor Agena B | V Pad 4 |
| 2125 | Thor MECO (T+2:27) | ||
| 2125 | Thor VECO (T+2:36) | ||
| 2125 | Thor sep (T+2:42) | ||
| 2126 | Agena burn (T+3:22) | ||
| Thor apo 229 km 2.896km/s | -5884 x 229 | ||
| 2130 | Agena cutoff (T+7:20) | ||
| 245 x 310 x ? (VCR) | |||
| 2220 | 237 x 293 x 81.56 (OE) | ||
| 1961 Nov 16 | 0420 | 89.89 233 x 304 x 81.6 | |
| 1918 | 89.70 233 x 286 x 81.6 | ||
| 1961 Nov 16 | 2048 | 235 x 289 x 81.56 (OE) | |
| 1961 Nov 17 | 0018? | SRV sep, deorbit | |
| 1961 Nov 17 | 0045 | SRV recovered over Pacific | |
| 0050 | SRV thrust cone reentry | ||
| 1961 Nov 20 | 2030 | 89.60 233 x 276 x 81.63 | |
| 1961 Nov 21 | 89.7 238 x 278 x 81.6 (RAE) | ||
| 1961 Nov 25 | 1225 | 89.31 233 x 247 x 81.63 | |
| 1961 Nov 30 | 0352 | 88.82 216 x 216 x 81.63 | |
| 1961 Dec 2 | 1200 | 88.2 177 x 190 x 81.6 (RAE) | |
| 1961 Dec 3 | 1900? | CORONA/Agena reentered | |
Thursday, February 24, 1977
Transtage 8
1965-108A
The 3C-8 flight was the first Titan III launch to geostationary transfer orbit, in a rehearsal for the IDCSP missions. The Transtage made 2 burns, but failed to restart for the third burn. OV2-3 remained attached. Debris objects were cataloged suggesting that the final burn resulted in disintegration of the vehicle.
Total payload was 436 kg including 194 kg OV2-3, 45 kg LES-3, 79 kg LES-4, 19 kg OSCAR, and 99 kg truss.
The 10.4 m**2 RCS of the 1965-108A object suggests that it is largely intact. The next largest objects are LES 4, OV2-3, and then debris objects starting with 108U at 0.5 m**2.
| Transtage 8 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 Dec 21 | 1400:01 | Launch by Titan IIIC (3C-8) | CK LC41 |
| T+1:48 St 1 MES | |||
| T+1:58 SRMs sep | |||
| T+3:30 Fairing sep | |||
| T+4:29 St 1 sep | |||
| T+4:29 St 2 MES | |||
| T+7:43 St 2 MECO | |||
| T+7:53 St 2 sep | |||
| T+7:56 Transtage MES | |||
| T+12:12 Transtage MECO-1 | |||
| 1412? | MECO-1 | ||
| 1500? | Transtage burn 2 | ||
| MECO-2 | 167 x 33662 x 26 | ||
| 2000? | Failed to restart | ||
| 2000? | OV2-3 failed to sep | ||
Monday, February 7, 1977
Sunday, February 6, 1977
Kosmos 853
1976-088A
The next Molniya-2 satellite, No. 26 (F17) was launched on 1976 Sep 1 and suffered another fourth stage failure. It was announced as Kosmos-853.
| Kosmos-853 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 Sep 1 | 0323 | Launch by Molniya | PL |
| BVGD sep | |||
| GO sep | |||
| T+4:46 Blok A sep | |||
| T+4:56 KhO sep | |||
| T+8:46 Blok-I MECO | |||
| 0331 | T+8:50 Blok-I sep | ||
| T+53:16 BOZ burn failed | |||
| 0416 | T+53:56 BOZ sep | ||
| ML burn | |||
| T+56:46 ML MECO | |||
| 0419 | T+56:54 ML sep | ||
| 1976 Sep 1 | Blok-L underburn | ||
| 1976 Sep 1 | 91.6 243x461x62.8 | ||
| 1976 Dec 31 | reentered | ||
Saturday, February 5, 1977
Kosmos 372
1970-086A
A Strela-2 satellite was launched in Oct 1970 from Plesetsk into a 101 minute, 800 km orbit which would become standard for the operational satellites.
| Kosmos-372 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 Oct 16 | 1459:59 | Launch by 11K65M | PL |
| 1502? | Stage 2 burn 1 | ||
| 1508? | Coast | ||
| 1534? | Stage 2 burn 2 | ||
| 1534? | Stage 2 sep | ||
| 1970 Oct 29 | 0500 | 100.80 785 x 806 x 74.1 | |
Sunday, January 30, 1977
Thursday, January 20, 1977
Gambit 21
1965-062A
KH-7 21 was launched on 1965 Aug 3 by Atlas Agena D from Vandenberg. It carried a subsatellite launched to a 500 km orbit.
| KH-7 21 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 Aug 3 | 1906 | Launch by Atlas Agena D | V |
| T+2:18? BECO | |||
| T+4:37? SECO | |||
| T+4:54? VECO | |||
| T+4:59? Atlas sep | |||
| T+5:51? Agena MES | |||
| 1915 | T+9:50? Agena MECO | ||
| OCV sep | 149 x 307 x 107.5 | ||
| 1965 Aug 3 | 1930? | Subsatellite launched | |
| 1965 Aug 7 | Rev 64 last image | ||
| 1965 Aug 7 | 2110?? | SRV recovered? | |
| 1965 Aug 7 | 2150? | Reentered | |
Saturday, January 15, 1977
Kosmos 214
1968-032A
Zenit-4 No. 45 was the second 81.4 degree polar mission and the first Zenit-4 to fly such a profile.
| Kosmos-214 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 Apr 18 | 1030:01 | Launch by 11A57 | PL |
| 1034 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 1039 | Blok-I sep | 90.25 200 x 373 x 81.40 (RAE) | |
| 0252 | 90.23 197 x 373 x 81.4 | ||
| 1968 Apr 25 | 90.12 196 x 363 x 81.4 | ||
| 1968 Apr 26 | 0923? | Deorbit | |
| 0943? | Landed after 7.96d | ||