Saturday, April 9, 1983
Wednesday, April 6, 1983
Monday, April 4, 1983
Syncom 1
1963-004A
The first Hughes Syncom payload, A-25 or Syncom A, carried 2 TWTs (Travelling Wave Tubes) operating at 2-8 GHz. Spacecraft telemetry was transmitted at 140 MHz. The spin stabilized satellite contained a Thiokol TE-375 solid apogee motor to circularize its orbit. Syncom was intended to reach a synchronous (24 hour period) orbit with an inclination of 33 degrees - such an orbit is not geostationary, as the ground track describes a figure of eight reaching north and south latitudes equal to the inclination.
Launch of Syncom I was at 0535 UT on 1963 Feb 14. The Delta B rocket successfully inserted the payload and Altair third stage in a 252 x 34498 km x 33.1 deg transfer orbit. At 1042 UT on Feb 14 the TE-375 motor was fired, and contact with the spacecraft was lost. The satellite was later tracked in a 34392 x 36739 km x 33.3 deg orbit, indicating that the motor did fire.
| Syncom 1 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 Feb 14 | 0535:08 | Launch by Delta B | CC LC17B |
| 0537:35 | T+2:27 MECO | ||
| Thor sep | |||
| 0537 | Delta S/N 20003 burn, 2:41 | ||
| 0540 | Delta SECO | ||
| 0550? | Altair SV-330 burn | ||
| 0551? | Altair sep | 252 x 34498x 33.1 | |
| 1963 Feb 14 | 1042 | AKM burn | |
| 1042 | LOS | ||
| 34392 x 36739 x 33.3 | |||
Sunday, April 3, 1983
Kosmos 1402
1982-084A
Coplanar with K1365. The satellite survived after the Kosmos-1365 and Kosmos-1412 missions were completed, and was prepared for orbit raise on Dec 28. However the orbit raise failed to happen. The radioactive fuel core was ejected, and it and the main spacecraft reentered separately. Kosmos-1402, the reactor and main propulsion unit attached together, reentered over the Indian Ocean on Jan 23 while the uranium fuel core reentered over the South Atlantic on Feb 7.
| Kosmos-1402 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 Aug 30 | 1006 | Launch by Tsiklon-2 | Baykonur |
| 1008 | Stage 1 sep | ||
| 1010 | Stage 2 sep | -800? x 265 x 65 | |
| 1020? | DU burn | ||
| 1030? | Stage 2 reentry | ||
| 1982 Aug 30 | 248x262x65.0 | ||
| 1982 Dec 27 | 2250? | last mv | |
| 1982 Dec 28 | 0200? | failed to raise orbit | |
| 1982 Dec 28 | 0200? | Fuel core ejected | |
| 1982 Dec 31 | end of tx | ||
| 1983 Jan 23 | reentered over IO 25S 84E | ||
| 1983 Feb 7 | U235 fuel core reentered over S Atlantic | ||