Friday, December 25, 1981

Kosmos 849

 1976-083A


Kosmos-849 was launched 1976 Aug 18, overlapping the mission of Kosmos-801 by 4 months.


Kosmos-849 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1976 Aug 18  0930  Launch by 11K63  NIIP-53 LC133/1 
 0932  Stage 2 burn 
 0936? Stage 2 sep 
   95.9 264 x 865 x 71.0 
1977 Jun 30   end of ops 
1978 Apr 24   Reentered 

Monday, December 21, 1981

Kosmos 275

 1969-031A


The fifth DS-P1-I was Kosmos-275, in Mar 1969.


Kosmos-275
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1969 Mar 28  1600  Launch by 11K63  PL 
 1602  Stage 2 burn 
 1607?  Stage 2 sep 
1969 Mar 30  0000   95.18 273 x 780 x 70.98 
1969 Aug 6   End of operations 
1970 May 240643?  Reentered 

Friday, December 18, 1981

Transit O-3

 1965-017A


NNS O-3 (30030, Oscar 3) was launched in Mar 1965, but the Ablestar final stage SS-03 No. 018 failed to restart and the satellite reentered from its transfer orbit after 3 months. The planned orbit was 1070 x 1070 x 90.0.


NNS O-3 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1965 Mar 11  1339:59 Launch by Thor Ablestar  V 75-1-1 
 1342:28 Thor MECO (T+2:29) 
 1342:32  Thor sep (T+2:33) 
 1342:32  AB 018 burn (T+2:33) 
 1347:26  AB 018 MECO  97.88 295 x 1019 x 90.00  
 1418? Ablestar failed to restart 
 1420? Sep from Ablestar   
1965 Mar 21    96.67 206 x 991 x 90.0 
1965 Apr 6   End of transmissions 
1965 Apr 12  0500  95.2 211 x 890 x 89.97 (RAE) 
1965 Jun 14   Reentered 


Thursday, December 10, 1981

Kosmos 1318

 1981-109A



Kosmos-1318 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1981 Nov 3  1300 Launch by Soyuz  PL 
 1308  Blok-I sep 
1981 Nov 3    89.75 172x352x67.1 
1981 Nov 8    89.82 160x370x67.1 from 89.38 166x322 
1981 Nov 14    90.06 164x391x67.1 from 89.06 155x301 
1981 Nov 22    88.83 152x281x67.1 from 88.54 143x260 
1981 Nov 23    89.23 166x306x67.1 from 88.62 146x265 
1981 Nov 25    89.83 172x359x67.1 from 88.92 161x280 
1981 Dec 4    89.02 162x289x67.1 
1981 Dec 50224 reentered 

Wednesday, November 4, 1981

Kosmos 1315

 1981-103A




Kosmos-1315 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1981 Oct 13  2301 Launch by 8A92M  Plesetsk 
 2306?  Blok E burn 
 2311? Blok E sep 
1981 Oct 14  625x665x81.19 

Kosmos 687

 1974-076A




Kosmos-687 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1974 Oct 11  1130 Launch by 11K65M  Plesetsk 
 1150? Stage 2 sep 
1974 Oct 11   94.5 286x698x74.0 
1978 Feb 5   reentered 


Saturday, October 24, 1981

Molniya 119

  1970-049A


The first D-plane satellite was Molniya-1 F19, launched on 26 Jun 1970.


Molniya-1 F19 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1970 Jun 26  0323:01 Launch by 8K78M  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 
 0416?  T+53:56 BOZ sep 
  ML burn 
  T+56:46 ML MECO 
 0419?  T+56:54 ML sep   
1970 Jun 30    700.39 331 x 39051 x 65.39 
1970 Jul 8    700.30 475 x 39013 x 65.39 
1970 Jul 13    717.59 466 x 39879 x 65.4 
1970 Jul 27    717.60 472 x 39873 x 65.3 
1970 AugOrbit raised
1970 Nov 18    717.59 603 x 39741 x 65.5 
1971 Jan 24    717.94 740 x 39621 x 65.5 
1972 Feb 16    717.66 1296 x 39052 x 65.5 
1972 Apr   end of stabilized operations
1973 Jan 29    717.47 1531 x 38807 x 65.5 
1974 May 30    717.39 1031 x 39304 x 65.4 
1975 Oct 21    717.10 233 x 40088 x 65.0 
1976 Feb 10    156.73 59 x 6442 x 65.0 
1976 Feb 16   Reentered 

Sunday, October 18, 1981

Kosmos 386

  1970-110A


Zenit-4M flight 9 was launched in Dec 1970 as Kosmos-386. The satellite was recovered after a 13 day flight.


Kosmos-386 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1970 Dec 15  1000:01  Launch by 11A57  KB 
 1004  Blok-I burn  
 1008  Blok-I sep  
 1847   89.13 221 x 241 x 65.0 
  Orbit raise
1970 Dec 16  1110   89.39 214 x 274 x 65.0 
1970 Dec   Orbit raise 
1970 Dec 23  2040   90.00 212 x 336 x 65.0 
1970 Dec 27  1909   89.97 211 x 334 x 65.0 
1970 Dec 28  0400Engine sep 
 0705? Retrofire 
 0714? PO sep 
 0721? Entry 
 0736? Landed after 12.9d 

Friday, August 28, 1981

Kosmos 719

 1975-018A


Two-tone telemetry; Hi res satellite TF beacon


Kosmos-719 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1975 Mar 12  0855 Launch by Soyuz-U  Baykonur 
 0859 Blok-I burn 
 0903 Blok-I sep 
1975 Mar 12    89.31 172 x 309 x 65.0 
1975 Mar 15    89.27 173 x 303 x 65.0 
1975 Mar 15   
89.45 171 x 322 x 65.0 
1975 Mar 16   
89.43 173 x 319 x 65.0 
1975 Mar 24    89.26 171 x 304 x 65.0 
1975 Mar 25   
 0457?  Deorbit 
 0507? PO sep 
 0511? Entry 
 0527? Landed 

Thursday, August 20, 1981

Kosmos 937

 1977-077A


RCS was 30m2. A single piece of debris was cataloged associated with launch (but in the payload orbit).


Kosmos-937 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1977 Aug 24  0707 Launch by 11K69  Baikonur
 0709 Stage 1 sep 
 0711  Stage 2 sep  
 0756? AKM burn 
1977 Aug 24    93.3 424x444x65.0 
1978 Mar 15?   end of ops? 
1978 Oct 19   reentered 

Spaceflight: January 1981

 https://welib.org/md5/89c71b5bc9373bf5b46b2d2de33de4cb

Monday, August 3, 1981

Kosmos 36

 1964-042A


The first DS-P1-Yu satellite was launched in Jul 1964 from the GTsP4 range at Kapustin Yar and was named Kosmos-36. The 63S1 launch vehicle placed Kosmos-36 in a 261 x 477 km x 49 deg orbit, similar to that used by the scientific DS satellites. It remained in orbit for eight months and transmitted until reentry.


Kosmos-36 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1964 Jul 30  0336? Launch by 63S1  GTsP4 
 0338?  Stage 2 burn  
 0342?  Stage 2 MECO 
 0343?  Stage 2 MECO 
1964 Aug 2  0930   91.85 261 x 477 x 49.0 (RAE)  
1965 Feb 28  0043?  Reentered 

Payload:

  • Special equipment payload

  • Rubin-1D orbit control

  • Tral-P1 telemetry system

  • Mayak transmitter

  • BKRD-2D command radio installation

Saturday, July 25, 1981

Kosmos 552

 1973-016A


Kosmos-552 was launched in Mar 1973 from Plesetsk. The mission lasted 12 days. The satellite carried a 16KS capsule which was ejected after only 4 days.


Kosmos-552 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1973 Mar 22  1000:00  Launch by 11A57  PL 
 1004?  Blok-I burn  
 1008?  Blok-I sep  
 1846   89.64 202 x 310 x 72.8 
 1900   89.68 204 x 312 x 72.84 (RAE)  
1973 Mar 26   16KS Capsule sep (16C) 
1973 Mar 27  1519   89.60 201 x 307 x 72.8 
1973 Apr 2  1739   89.49 200 x 298 x 72.8 
1973 Apr 3  0530?  Retrofire 
 0540?  PO sep 
 0546?  Entry 
 0600? Landed

Thursday, July 2, 1981

The New Yorker: April 13,1981

 https://welib.org/md5/172ccffff3ef7b3afe157cc707577a3f

DMSP 25

 1970-070A


The second Block 5A satellite, F25, operated until Nov 1970. There were problems with the sensor motor brush due to drying lubricant.

SSO 00:18 LTDN.


DMSP 02525 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1970 Sep 3  0839:45 Launch by Thor Burner 2  V SLC10W 
 0842  Thor MECO 
 0851? Burner II burn 
 0854? Burner II sep 
   101.3 764 x 874 x 98.7 
1970 Nov 23   end of transmissions

Monday, June 22, 1981

Corona 70

  1963-035A


Agena D spacecraft 1169 was used for KH-5 Mission 9058A. As well as the ARGON mapping camera, 9058A carried a cosmic ray detector and a subsatellite listed in the SATCAT as `0.1 SQ METER TARGET'. ARGON 9 was launched on 1963 Aug 29 by a Thor Agena D from Vandenberg. Orbital mass was 1201 kg. The SRV was recovered in mid-air after 3 days of flight completing the most successful ARGON flight so far.


KH-5 Mission 9058A 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1963 Aug 29  2031:04  Launch by Thor Agena D  V Pad 5 
 2033  Thor MECO (T+2:27) 
 2033  Thor VECO (T+2:36) 
 2033  Thor sep (T+2:40) 
 2034  Agena burn (T+3:09) 
 2038:16  Agena MECO (T+7:12)  90.8 301 x 334 x 81.8 (VCR) 
1963 Aug 29?  Deploy target subsatellite  92.0 315 x 422 x 81.9 (SATCAT, 35B) 
1963 Aug 30  0332   90.69 280 x 336 x 81.8 
1963 Aug 31  1854   90.68 296 x 319 x 81.9 
1963 Sep 1  2107?  SRV deorbit rev 48  
 2142?  SRV recovered over Pacific after 3.1d
1963 Sep 1   Deb 1963-35D reentered 
1963 Sep 2   Deb 1963-35C reentered 
1963 Sep 2  2250?  SRV deorbit rev 65 
 2330  SRV recovered  
1963 Sep 3  0000   90.80 292 x 324 x 81.9 (RAE) 
1963 Sep 3  0123   90.68 291 x 324 x 81.9 
1963 Oct 22  0230   90.00 261 x 287 x 81.9 (RAE) 
1963    87.9 165 x 165 x 81.9 (SATCAT) 
1963 Nov 5  0754   88.48 199 x 199 x 81.9 
1963 Nov 7  1200?  CORONA 70/Agena 1169 reentered 

Tuesday, June 2, 1981

Corona 59

 1963-002A


Mission 9051, with Agena D 1157, was launched on 1963 Jan 7 into an 82 degree orbit. The SRV was recovered from the sea after a 4 day flight. The SRV came down 1600 km off course because of a horizon sensor malfunction. The vehicle had erratic attitude control and film ran out on pass 57D,but the film obtained was of good quality. Orbit mass was 1299 kg.


KH-4 Mission 9051 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1963 Jan 7  2109:49  Launch by Thor Agena D  V Pad 1 
 2111  Thor MECO (T+2:29) 
 2111  Thor VECO (T+2:38) 
 2111  Thor sep (T+2:44)  -5837? x 198 x 82  
 2112  Agena burn (T+3:14) 
 2116  Agena cutoff (T+7:17)  90.61 193 x 417 x 82.24 (VCR) 
 2130   90.54 205 x 399 x 82.23 (RAE) 
1963 Jan 8  0541   90.39 203 x 385 x 82.0 
1963 Jan 9  0118   90.39 191 x 396 x 82.2 
1963 Jan 10  1328   90.26 182 x 392 x 82.2 
1963 Jan 11  90.3 202 x 384 x 82.0 (SATCAT) 
  Rev 56, end of photography 
1963 Jan 11  2305?  SRV sep, deorbit rev 65 
 2340?  SRV impact Pacific 
1963 Jan 12  0002  SRV located in sea 
  9 05N 157 05 W 
 1248  SRV inverted, ballast arm broke 
  Recovered in raft `shortly after dawn' 
1963 Jan 12  1730  SRV recovered?  
1963 Jan 13  1811   89.96 181 x 363 x 82.2 
1963 Jan 13  1900   90.01 193 x 353 x 82.23 (RAE) 
1963 Jan 16   Debris 02B reentered 
1963 Jan 21  0930   88.75 168 x 254 x 82.19 (RAE) 
1963 Jan 21  0942   88.70 164 x 256 x 82.2 
1963 Jan 22  88.7 164 x 256 x 82.0 (SATCAT) 
1963 Jan 24  0500? CORONA 59/Agena 1157 reentered 

Corona 111

 1966-072A


KH-4A Mission 1036 (CORONA 111) saw the introduction of a new launch vehicle, the Long Tank Thrust Augmented Thor Agena D. The LTTAT, also known as Thorad, was delivered by McDonnell Douglas to USAF in June of 1966, and took off from Vandenberg on Aug 9, placing the KH-4A payload into a retrograde 100 degree inclination orbit. The KH-4A mission had an unusually long duration, with SRV-1 recovered after 7 days and and SRV-2 operating for a further 6 days before recovery. This mission may be the first J-2 model,although the J-2 designation was not used in most documents. The J-2 proposal, reportedly not approved, used Thorad/Agena, had a 14 day lifetime, and could incorporate the OAS orbit adjust system kit. All of these enhancements apply to the later J-1 missions.


KH-4A Mission 1036 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1966 Aug 9  2046:03 Launch by Thorad Agena D  V SLC1W 
 2047:45 Castor II SRMs sep (T+1:42) 
 2049:40  Thor MECO (T+3:37) 
 2049:49  Thor VECO (T+3:46) 
 2049:55  Thor sep (T+3:52) 
 2050:01  Agena burn (T+3:58) 
 2054:03  Agena MECO (T+8:00)  89.46 193 x 305 x 100.11 (VCR) 
1966 Aug 10  0212   89.38 191 x 296 x 100.1 
1966 Aug 11  0501   89.32 188 x 294 x 100.1 
1966 Aug 12  0451   89.30 188 x 291 x 100.1 
1966 Aug 13  2232   89.25 187 x 286 x 100.1 
1966 Aug 15    89.4 193 x 239 x 100.12 (SSR) 
1966 Aug 15  0230  89.35 194 x 287 x 100.12 (RAE) 
1966 Aug 15  0249   89.21 188 x 282 x 100.12 
1966 Aug 16  2157   89.16 189 x 276 x 100.11 
1966 Aug 17  2357? SRV-1 ejected rev 115 
1966 Aug 17  0034 SRV-1 recovered midair 
  22 46N 168 02 W 
1966 Aug 21   Rev 211 film supply depleted 
1966 Aug 22  0003? SRV-2 ejected rev 212 
1966 Aug 23  0015 SRV-2 recovered midair 
  22 31.0 N 165 58W 
1966 Aug 31    89.0 185 x 246 x 100.1 (SSR) 
1966 Sep 12 CORONA/Agena reentered

Daydream Houses of Los Angeles

 https://welib.org/md5/0f1d3422325396bd54480cdd89e7354c

Saturday, May 30, 1981

Explorer 51

 1973-101A


Atmosphere Explorer C was the first of a new series of Atmosphere Explorers built by RCA for NASA-GSFC. The new AEs had their own propulsion system with two TRW hydrazine thrusters to allow major orbit changes and active spin control. The satellite was designed to probe the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere, studying its structure and composition. It also carried instruments to measure the effects of solar radiation on the atmosphere.

AE-C was launched on 1973 Dec 16 at 0618 by a Delta 1900 from Vandenberg. The Thor stage separated at 0621 and the Delta second stage ignited to place AE-C in a 150 x 4263 km x 68.1 deg orbit. Initially the orbit perigee was at 13N; this moved up to 68N and then back down again.

In March 1974, the satellite began a series of maneuvers to dip down into the atmosphere for 24 hours and then raise perigee again to avoid decay. These maneuvers were carried out every two weeks; the first one was to a perigee of 140 km, the lowest to a perigee of 129 km. The effect of higher drag during these excursions was to rapidly decrease the apogee, and by 1974 Dec the apogee was only 600 km.

AE-C now entered the second phase of its mission, with a circularization maneuver to enter a 250 x 250 km orbit. This was soon boosted to 390 km altitude, and during 1975 the satellite was maintained between 390 and 250 km altitude. AE-C was deactivated from 1975 Sep 23 to 1976 Feb 20. Its last reboost was carried out on 1977 Mar 18, and it stopped operations on 1978 Dec 11, a day before it reentered.

Launch mass was 668 kg. 1.14m high 1.37m dia. 168 kg of hydrazine could be carried. Control from GSFC. Delta stage 2 mass was 5443 kg full including 4672 kg of prop.


AE-C orbital history 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1973 Dec 16  0618:00  Launch by Delta 1900 
  T+0:36 SRM 1-6 burnout 
  T+0:39 SRM 7-9 on 
  T+1:17 SRM 7-9 out 
  T+1:36 SRM 1-9 sep 
 0622:32  T+4:32 MECO 
 0622:40 T+4:40 Thor sep 
 0622:44  Delta SES-1 burn 5:33 
 0622:48  Fairing sep
 0628:17 T+10:17 Delta SECO-1 
  T+24:19 Spinup to 12 rpm 
 0642:55  T+24:55 Delta sep 
 0955   132.48 154 x 4305 x 68.1 
1973 Dec 17  0800   132.46 157 x 4301 x 68.1 
1974 Jan 7  1325   131.06 150 x 4186 x 68.1 
1974 Feb 1  0219   129.67 152 x 4063 x 68.1 
1974 Mar 2  1756   128.25 153 x 3939 x 68.1 
1974 Mar 6  0516   128.10 153 x 3925 x 68.1 
  Lower perigee 
1974 Mar 7  0900   127.88 144 x 3915 x 68.1 
1974 Mar 8  1034   127.72 136 x 3909 x 68.1 
1974 Mar 13  0516   127.14 135 x 3859 x 68.1 
  Raise apogee 
1974 Mar 14  1307   127.55 138 x 3892 x 68.1 
  Raise apogee 
1974 Mar 15  1854   127.95 139 x 3925 x 68.1 
  Raise apogee 
1974 Mar 17  0921   128.30 140 x 3956 x 68.1 
  Raise apogee 
1974 Mar 19  0202   129.50 143 x 4058 x 68.1 
  Raise apogee 
1974 Mar 19  1710   130.35 144 x 4131 x 68.1 
1974 Mar 26  1818   129.78 143 x 4082 x 68.1 
  Raise apogee 
1974 Mar 28  0502   130.19 145 x 4116 x 68.1 
1974 Apr 9  0021   128.28 144 x 4037 x 68.1 
  Raise apogee 
 1526   129.74 146 x 4076 x 68.1 
1974 Apr 15  0519   129.36 146 x 4042 x 68.1 
  Lower perigee 
 1815   129.14 129 x 4040 x 68.1 
1974 May 1  1915   126.10 130 x 3772 x 68.1 
1974 Jun 3  0532   120.27 128 x 3257 x 68.1 
  Raise perigee 
 2335   120.22 134 x 3247 x 68.1 
1974 Jun 4  1336   120.15 134 x 3240 x 68.1 
  Raise perigee 
1974 Jun 5  2137   119.97 138 x 3221 x 68.1 
1974 Jun 12  1502   119.09 135 x 3144 x 68.1 
  Raise perigee 
1974 Jun 12  1701   119.13 142 x 3142 x 68.1 
1974 Jun 14  1638   119.24 145 x 3147 x 68.1 
1974 Jun 19  2138   118.82 145 x 3110 x 68.1 
  Raise apogee 
1974 Jun 20  0736   119.26 147 x 3147 x 68.1 
1974 Jun 27  0022   118.93 148 x 3117 x 68.1 
  Raise apogee 
1974 Jun 28  0010   119.16 148 x 3137 x 68.1 
1974 Jul 10  2238   118.03 145 x 3039 x 68.1 
  Lower perigee 
1974 Jul 11  0036   117.94 136 x 3040 x 68.1 
  Adjust perigee 
1974 Jul 13  0537   117.65 139 x 3011 x 68.1 
1974 Aug 2  0223   114.75 136 x 2751 x 68.1 
1974 Aug 22  2339   111.33 139 x 2436 x 68.1 
  Lower perigee 
1974 Aug 23  0705   110.58 131 x 2375 x 68.1 
1974 Aug 29  0322   110.19 137 x 2334 x 68.1 
  Lower perigee 
1974 Aug 31  1022   109.78 131 x 2301 x 68.1 
1974 Sep 7  0418   108.47 138 x 2173 x 68.1 
  Lower perigee 
1974 Sep 9  1215   108.01 130 x 2139 x 68.1 
1974 Sep 10  0238   107.88 130 x 2126 x 68.1 
1974 Sep 11  0535   107.63 133 x 2100 x 68.1 
1974 Sep 12  1538   107.35 129 x 2078 x 68.1 
1974 Sep 28  0445   103.81 128 x 1749 x 68.0 
  Lower perigee 
1974 Oct 5  1201   102.36 124 x 1616 x 68.0 
1974 Oct 11  1217   101.22 123 x 1509 x 68.0 
1974 Oct 12  0806   100.96 126 x 1481 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1974 Oct 12  1013   101.22 132 x 1500 x 68.0 
  Lower perigee 
1974 Oct 13  0806   100.96 126 x 1481 x 68.0 
1974 Oct 17  2231   99.83 123 x 1376 x 68.0 
  Lower perigee 
1974 Oct 18  2007   99.57 118 x 1357 x 68.0 
1974 Oct 31  1844   96.61 119 x 1073 x 68.0 
1974 Nov 1  0600   96.51 116 x 1066 x 68.0 
1974 Nov 12  2129   93.80 121 x 799 x 68.0 
1974 Nov 26  2247   91.00 122 x 525 x 68.0 
1974 Nov 27  0926   91.09 130 x 525 x 68.0 
1974 Nov 30  1012   90.76 135 x 488 x 68.0 
1974 Dec 9  0315   89.64 134 x 378 x 68.0 
1974 Dec 10  0308   89.49 133 x 364 x 68.0 
  Raise perigee 
1974 Dec 13  0243   89.21 142 x 328 x 68.0 
1974 Dec 15  0216   89.06 147 x 308 x 68.0 
1974 Dec 16  1352   88.87 147 x 289 x 68.0 
  Raise perigee 
1974 Dec 17  1931   89.16 183 x 281 x 68.0 
  Raise perigee 
1974 Dec 18  1919   89.49 219 x 278 x 68.0 
  Raise perigee 
1974 Dec 19  1443   89.89 259 x 279 x 68.0 
1975 Jan 1  0640   89.74 251 x 272 x 68.0 
1975 Jan 30  1304   89.01 218 x 232 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Feb 1  0215   89.33 229 x 252 x 68.0 
1975 Feb 12  0852   89.03 220 x 232 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Feb 14  0225   89.11 222 x 239 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Feb 16  0925   89.19 227 x 240 x 68.0 
1975 Feb 26  0527   88.89 213 x 225 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Feb 26  2315   89.13 217 x 245 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Feb 27  1835   89.33 235 x 247 x 68.0 
1975 Mar 14  1809   88.85 211 x 224 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Mar 18  0522   89.25 228 x 246 x 68.0 
1975 Apr 8  1114   88.41 190 x 201 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Apr 10  1158   88.74 198 x 226 x 68.0 
1975 Apr 11  1009   88.67 196 x 220 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Apr 12  1251   89.01 220 x 231 x 68.0 
1975 Apr 22  1540   88.56 197 x 209 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Apr 24  0747   89.34 231 x 252 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Apr 27  0744   90.14 264 x 298 x 68.0 
1975 May 15  0811   90.01 258 x 290 x 68.0 
1975 Jun 2    89.64 236 x 276 x 68.0 
1975 Jun 8  0223   89.57 233 x 272 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Jun 14  0538   90.66 302 x 311 x 68.0 
1975 Jul 6  0155   90.61 299 x 308 x 68.0 
1975 Sep 18  2354  90.31 285 x 293 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Sep 19  0558  90.53 291 x 309 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Sep 20  1341  90.68 303 x 311 x 68.0 
1975 Sep 23   Deactivated 
1975 Dec 7  1644   90.24 283 x 288 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1975 Dec 11  2142   90.76 305 x 317 x 68.0 
1976 Feb 20   Reactivated 
1976 Mar 8  1119   90.48 293 x 302 x 68.0 
  Lower perigee 
1976 Mar 9  2200   90.26 267 x 306 x 68.0 
  Lower orbit 
1976 Mar 11  2038   90.05 254 x 299 x 68.0 
1976 Apr 20  1121   89.52 238 x 262 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1976 Apr 21  2140   89.85 261 x 273 x 68.0 
1976 Apr 26  0929   89.80 259 x 269 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1976 Apr 26  2129   90.17 278 x 287 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1976 Apr 30  0652   90.50 293 x 304 x 68.0 
1976 Jul 15  0952   90.20 280 x 288 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1976 Jul 23  1055   90.49 292 x 304 x 68.0 
1976 Sep 28  0729   90.22 279 x 291 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1976 Sep 29  1504   90.43 280 x 301 x 68.0 
1977 Jan 1  1054   89.69 256 x 261 x 68.0 
1977 Jan 22  1257   89.40 239 x 249 x 68.0 
  Raise orbit 
1977 Jan 26  0155   89.68 257 x 260 x 68.0 
1977 Feb 8  0930   89.46 246 x 248 x 68.0 
  Begin orbit raising burns 
1977 Feb 10  0804   90.71 295 x 322 x 68.0 
 2311   91.34 320 x 359 x 68.0 
1977 Feb 11  2333   91.46 328 x 364 x 68.0 
1977 Feb 14  0153   91.46 328 x 363 x 68.0 
1977 Feb 15  0234   91.58 331 x 372 x 68.0 
1977 Feb 17  1822   91.83 355 x 372 x 68.0 
1977 Feb 24  1236   91.80 356 x 369 x 68.0 
1977 Mar 1  1958   92.31 383 x 391 x 68.0 
1977 Mar 12  0953   92.35 387 x 391 x 68.0 
1977 Mar 18   Last orbital adjust? 
  Orbit raising complete 
1977 Aug 2  0126   92.24 383 x 385 x 68.0 
1978 Feb 6  0901   91.96 366 x 374 x 68.0 
1978 Mar 16  0701   91.82 361 x 366 x 68.0 
1978 Mar 23  1805   81.80 359 x 365 x 68.0 
1978 Aug 30  1900   91.01 320 x 327 x 68.0 
1978 Nov 27  2013   89.27 238 x 238 x 68.0 
1978 Dec 10  1022   88.02 175 x 177 x 67.9 
1978 Dec 11   End of transmissions 
1978 Dec 12   Reentered 

Payload:

  • CEP Cylindrical Electrostatic Probe (GSFC/Brace)

  • MESA Accelerometer (AFCRL/Champion)

  • PES Photoelectric Spectrometer (APL/Doering)

  • RPA Retarding Potential Analyser (UTD/Hanson)

  • ESUM Extreme Solar UV Monitor (GSFC/Heath), 40-1220A

  • EUVS Extreme Solar UV spectrometer (AFCRL/Hinteregger), 140-1850A, 24 monochromators

  • OSS Open Source Neutral Mass Spectrometer (UMn/Nier)

  • NACE Neutral Atmosphere Composition Experiment (GSFC/UM/Nace)

  • NATE Neutral Atmosphere Temperature Experiment (GSFC/UM/Spencer)

  • MIMS Magnetic Ion Mass Spectrometer (UTD/Hoffman-J)

  • BIMS Bennett Ion Mass Spectrometer (GSFC/Brinton)

  • LEE Low Energy Electrons (GSFC/NOAA/Hoffman-R)

  • UVNO UV Nitric Oxide Experiment (Colorado/Barth)

  • VAE Visible Airglow Experiment (UM/Hays)

October 1,2026

  https://planet4589.org/space/jsr/back/news.860.txt