Thursday, December 31, 1987

Kosmos 1497

 1983-095A


Two-tone telemetry; Medium res satellite


Kosmos-1497 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1983 Sep 9  1100 Launch by Soyuz-U  Plesetsk 
 1104 Blok-I burn 
 1108  Blok-I sep 
1983 Sep 9    90.3 198x376x72.9 
1983 Sep 10    92.3 358x415x72.9 
1983 Sep 22    92.27 356 x 414 x 72.9 
1983 Sep 23   
 0500? Deorbit 
 0510? PO sep 
 0528? Entry 
 0544? Landed 


Monday, December 28, 1987

Kosmos 1113

 1979-064A



Kosmos-1113 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1979 Jul 10  0900 Launch by Soyuz-U  Baikonur 
 0904 Blok-I burn 
 0908  Blok-I sep 
1979 Jul 11    89.23 170 x 301 x 65.0 
1979 Jul 14   
89.39 170 x 318 x 65.0 
1979 Jul 18    89.23 167 x 305 x 65.0 
1979 Jul 21   
89.63 167 x 344 x 65.0 
1979 Jul 22    89.60 166 x 342 x 65.0 
1979 Jul 23  
 0525?  Deorbit 
 0532? PO sep 
 0540? Entry 
 0556? Landed 

Thursday, December 24, 1987

Nimbus 2

  1966-040A


Nimbus II was launched 1966 May 15 at 0755 by a Thrust Augmented Thor Agena B from Vandenberg. The satellite entered a 1103 x 1179 km x 100.4 deg orbit and operated until 1969 Jan 18. 


Nimbus 2 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1966 May 15  0755:34  Launch by Thor Agena B  V 75-1 Pad 1 
 0756:17  Castor burnout 
 0756:39  Castor sep  
 0758:03 Thor MECO (T+2:29) 
 0758:12  Thor VECO (T+2:38) 
 0758:19  Thor sep (T+2:47) 
 0758:48  Agena burn (T+3:14) 
 0758:57  Fairing sep 
 0802:39  Agena MECO (T+7:05)  187? x 1101 x 100.35  
 0848:16  T+52:42 Agena burn 2 
 0848:21  T+52:47 Agena MECO-2 0.26 km/s  108.06 1095 x 1161 x 100 (VCR) 
 0852:44  Agena sep 
 0852:46  Nimbus panel deploy 
 0856Agena retro-1 
 0905Agena retro-2 
1969 Jan 18   End of ops 

Payload:

  • AVCS Advanced Vidicon Camera System

  • MRIR Medium Resolution IR Radiometer

Sunday, December 20, 1987

Kosmos 938

 1977-078A


Two-tone telemetry; Hi res satellite


Kosmos-938 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1977 Aug 24  1430 Launch by Soyuz-U  Plesetsk 
 1434  Blok-I burn 
 1438  Blok-I sep 
1977 Aug 24    89.38 181 x 340 x 62.9 
1977 Aug 25   
89.38 156 x 331 x 62.8 
1977 Aug 29    89.19 154 x 314 x 62.8 
1977 Sep 5    88.87 150 x 286 x 62.8 
1977 Sep 6   
 0514? Deorbit 
 0519? PO sep 
 0527?  Entry 
 0545?  Landed 

Kosmos 588

 1973-069A


Kosmos-588 was satellite 1 of Strela-1M octuplet no. 7.


Kosmos-588  
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1973 Oct 2  2146  Launch by 11K65M  PL 
  Stage 2 burn 1  
 2153 T+7m Stage 2 MECO-1 
  Stage 2 burn 2 
 2244? T+58m? Stage 2 sep 
   115.37 1451 x 1494 x 74.00  

Wednesday, December 16, 1987

Meteor-1 8

  1971-031A


The eighth named Meteor was launched in Apr 1971. It carried a vertical temperature profile spectrometer.


Meteor F8 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1971 Apr 17  1144:58 Launch by 8A92M  PL 
 1149?  Blok E burn 
 1155?  Blok E sep 
   97.2 610 x 633 x 81.2 
1970s  End of ops 

Friday, November 20, 1987

Kosmos 1306

 1981-089A



Kosmos-1306 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1981 Sep 14  2031 Launch by 11K69  Baikonur 
 2033 Stage 1 sep 
 2035  Stage 2 sep  
 2119? AKM burn 
1981 Sep 14    59x539x65.0 
1981 Sep 15    170x426x65.0 
1981 Sep 16    212x428x65.0 
1981 Sep 16    305x430x65.0 
1981 Sep 18    375x459x65.0 
1981 Sep 19    408x461x65.0 
1981 Sep 20    441x463x65.0 
1981 Sep 22    432x444x65.0 
1981 Sep 22    425x443x65.0 
1981 Sep 24    430x442x65.0

Spaceflight: March 1987

 https://welib.org/md5/b7d8975b44abff73a32511d4580d9e31

Club Management: June 1987

 https://welib.org/md5/b2a9fd1fa2b6722f7e95cdec82296321

Monday, November 9, 1987

Molniya 317

 1981-105A


Molniya-3 (F19, N17) was launched in Oct 1981 into plane D.


Molniya-3 No. 31 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1981 Oct 17  0559 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 
 0607 T+8:50 Blok-I sep  
  T+53:16 BOZ burn 
 0652 T+53:56 BOZ sep 
  ML burn 
  T+56:46 ML MECO 
 0655  T+56:54 ML sep   
1981 Oct 17    736.3 618 x 40648 x 62.8 
1981 Oct    718.4 613 x 39771 x 62.9 

Monday, October 26, 1987

The High School Journal: April-May 1987

 https://welib.org/md5/ec563f2368d72a7937450edfe57cc992

Kosmos 1510

 1983-115A


Kosmos-1510 went to a new inclination of 73.6 deg. The launch profile for the 73 deg orbit used lower altitudes for second stage separation and gave final orbit insertion some 8 minutes later.


Kosmos-1510 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1983 Nov 24  1233 Launch by 11K68  PL 
  T+2:00 St 1 sep 
  T+3:33 GO sep 
  T+4:38 St 2 sep, alt 126 km  -2400? x 170? x 73.6  
  T+5:19 S5M burn 1, alt 143 km  -2400? x 170? x 73.6  
 1239  T+6:48 S5M MECO-1, alt 173 km  90 x 1502 x 73.6 
  T+49:37 BOZ burn 
  T+51:15 S5M MES2  90 x 1502 x 73.6  
  T+51:33 S5M MECO2 
 1325 T+52:03 S5M sep 
1984 Apr 15  116.1 1481x1526x73.6 


Saturday, October 24, 1987

Kosmos 578

 1973-051A


Kosmos-578 was launched on 1973 Aug 1 from Plesetsk. The Kettering group detected a TG recovery beacon.


Kosmos-578 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1973 Aug 1  1400:01  Launch by 11A57  PL  
 1404 Blok-I burn  
 1408 Blok-I sep  
 1943   89.42 204 x 286 x 65.4 
1973 Aug 2  0500   89.41 200 x 292 x 65.38 (RAE) 
1973 Aug 8  1405   89.33 201 x 281 x 65.4 
1973 Aug 13  0415   89.28 199 x 278 x 65.4 
1973 Aug 140709? Retrofire  
 0719? PO sep 
 0725? Entry 
 0740? Landed

Spacelab : research in earth orbit

 https://welib.org/md5/b641615cb0ed88d5abb31b8211ecfb20

Sunday, October 18, 1987

Kosmos 331

  1970-026A


Zenit-4 No. 82 was launched in Apr 1970 from Baikonur into a 65.0 degree orbit.


Kosmos-331 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1970 Apr 8  1015:20 Launch by 11A57  KB 
 1019 Blok-I burn 
 1024 Blok-I sep 
 2036   89.80 205 x 323 x 65.0 
1970 Apr 10  0500   89.77 206 x 320 x 65.02 
1970 Apr 13  1716   89.70 203 x 315 x 65.0 
1970 Apr 16  0531? Blok-I reentered 
 0802? Retrofire 
 0824? Landed after 7.92d 

Venera 4

  1967-058A


The first in the new series was V-67 No. 310. It was launched on 1967 Jun 12 and named Venera-4. A course correction on Jul 27 corrected the initial miss distance of 160000 km. The main bus separated from the Spuskaemiy Apparat (SA) prior to entry. At an altitude of 55 km the parachutes were deployed and the instruments were turned on. The Venera-4 SA was apparently destroyed at an altitude of 27 km and impacted near latitude +19, longitude 38. The extrapolated surface conditions were temperature 500C, pressure 75 bar.


Venera-4 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1967 Jun 12  0239:45  Launch by 8K78M  KB 
 0244  Blok-A sep  
 0244  Blok-I burn 
 0249  Blok-I sep 
 0400?  BOZ burn 
 0400?  Blok-L burn, solar orbit 
 0405?  Blok-L sep 
1967 Jul 29   TCM 
1967 Oct 18  0236  Range 40000 km  
 0350? Range 20000 km  
1967 Oct 18  0418SA sep 
 0434  Entry 
 0437Signal received  
1967 Oct 18  0439:10  Parachutes out, 55 km 
 0532Pressure sensor failed  
 0614:00  LOS, 27 km 
 0635?Venus impact 

Friday, October 16, 1987

Ekran 11

 1983-100A


Ekran 25 was launched on 1983 Sep 29 by Proton-K from Baikonur.


Ekran 25 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1983 Sep 29  1737  Launch by Proton-K  KB 
 1746  Stage 3 sep  189 x 196 x 51.6 
 1854? DM burn 1  291 x 35614 x 47.3  
1983 Sep 30  0010? DM burn 2 
 0014? DM sep  1428.26 35539 x 35726 x 0.4 GEO 92.5E+2.0E 
1983 Oct 5    1435.84 35774 x 35789 x 0.4 GEO 98.2E+0.06E 
1983 Nov 3    1436.00 35778 x 35790 x 0.3 GEO 99.5E+0.02E 
1984 Jan 28    1436.03 35780 x 35789 x 0.1 GEO 99.5E 
1984 Sep 12    1436.36 35782 x 35800 x 0.4 GEO 98.3E+0.07W 

Wednesday, October 14, 1987

GOES-G

 1986-F04


GOES G was launched at 2218 on 1986 May 3 by a Delta 3914 from Launch Complex 17A at Cape Canaveral. Only a minute into the flight, a short circuit from a chafing wire caused a premature main engine cutoff on the ELT Thor stage. The nose fairing broke up due to aerodynamic pressure, and the range safety officer destroyed the rocket at T+90 sec.


GOES G 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1986 May 3  2218  Launch by Delta 3914 
  T+1:03 SRM 1-6 out 
  T+1:03 SRM 1-6 sep 
  T+1:03 SRM 7-9 burn 
  T+1:05 16 km, 0.63 km/s  
  T+1:11 MECO (premature) 
  Fairing failure 
  Stage 2 explosion 
 2219  T+1:30 RSO destruct 

Explorer 6

   1959-004


The S-002 satellite (Explorer 6) carried a number of experiments to study the magnetosphere. It was the STL Able-3 probe, left over from the pre-NASA program as a testbed for the Able-4 Venus probe (later Pioneer 5). Able-3 was launched by a Thor Able III rocket from Cape Canaveral at 1423 on 1959 Aug 7 at an azimuth of 48 deg. Thor 134 used AJ10-101A serial P SA-3-1 stage 2 and X248-A4 serial 52 for stage 3. The S-2 payload was S/N 003 and was a 0.74m sphere with four paddles and a mass of 40 kg. Stage 3 was 25 kg empty with 210 kg prop. 

One of the satellite’s solar paddles did not lock open. A two-part separation band was jettisoned to separate the Altair stage; the band parts were not cataloged. S-2 transmitted until Oct 6, and reentered sometime around 1961 Jul. The last available orbital data are on 1959 Sep 29. It was the first satellite to be significantly affected by lunisolar perturbations, and its flight caused renewed theoretical interest in these effects.

Explorer VI carried a 22N thrust solid ARC 1KS420 kick motor, S/N S6, to trim the orbit if needed, but the Thor Able performed well and the motor was not fired.

Some sources call the payload 1959 Delta 2 and the rocket Delta 1, but the current choice seems to be the other way round.

The Able-3 test vehicle was also used to test out systems planned for Able-4, including the third stage and the tracking systems.



Explorer 6
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1959 Aug 7 1423:22 Launch by Thor Able III  CC LC17A 
 1426:02 T+2:40 MECO 4.60 km/s  -5092 x 381 x 45.7  
  Range 155 km Alt 99 km Vi 4.899km/s at 22.34deg Az 53.33 
  T+2:42 St 2 burn 117s 
  T+2:43 St 1 sep 
  T+2:48 VECO 
  T+3:08 Fairing sep (2 halves) 151 km 
 1428:01 T+4:39 SECO  -1597 x 965 x 46.9  
  T+4:42 St 3 burn 38.6s 
 1428:04 T+4:42 St 2 sep 7.32 km/s in.  
 1428:42 T+5:20 St 3 burnout 349 km  258 x 42898 x 47.2  
 1430 T+7:13 St 3 sep   
 2048 T+6:25:38 Apogee 1 
1959 Aug 8  0308 T+12:45:38 Perigee 1 
1959 Aug 8    766.28 254 x 42466 x 47.0 
1959 Sep 29    762.25 250 x 42275 x 47.0 
1959 Oct 6   End of ops 
1961 Jul   Reentered 

Payload:

  • Photocell (cloud cover picture imager)
  • Ion chamber (Iowa)

  • Geiger counter (Iowa)

  • Scintillation counter (STL)

  • Cosmic ray counter telescope

  • Search Coil Magnetometer

  • Fluxgate magnetometer

  • Electron density probe, 2 beacons at 108 MHz and 378 MHz

  • VLF receiver (Stanford)

  • Micrometeorite detector  (AFCRL)

Thursday, October 1, 1987

Kosmos 1507

 1983-110A


RCS was 40m2; no debris cataloged.


Kosmos-1507 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1983 Oct 29  0830 Launch by 11K69  Baikonur
 0832 Stage 1 sep 
 0834  Stage 2 sep  
 0918? AKM burn 
1983 Oct 29    91.2 23x642x64.6 
1983 Oct 29    89.6 113x306x65.0 
1983 Oct 29    93.2 429x437x65.1 
1983 Oct 30    93.4 434x443x65.1 
1983 Oct 29    93.3 435x443x65.1 
1984 Jun   Period increase 
1984 Nov   begin decay 
1985 Jan 15   417x454x65.0 
1987 Mar   337x362x65.0 
1987 Aug 19   reentered 


Friday, September 25, 1987

Your future in space : the U.S. Space Camp training program

 https://welib.org/md5/5ff78a7dba6d374acce016c3a2444b75

Kosmos 1032

 1978-088A


Two-tone telemetry?; Hi res satellite with 25KS capsule.


Kosmos-1032 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1978 Sep 19  0805 Launch by Soyuz-U  Plesetsk 
 0809 Blok-I burn 
 0813 Blok-I sep 
1978 Sep 19    88.88 214 x 223 x 81.4 
1978 Sep 30    88.52 200 x 202 x 81.3 
1978 Oct 1   25KS capsule separated 
1978 Oct 2   
 0330?  Deorbit 
 0340? PO sep 
 0346? Entry 
 0402? Landed 

Kosmos 20

 1963-040A


Zenit-2 No. 13 flew an 8-day mission in Oct 1963. The mission was successful and was the last OKB-1 Zenit-2.


Kosmos-20 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1963 Oct 18  0930  Launch by Vostok 8A92  KB 
 0934 Blok-A sep 
 0939 Blok-E sep 
   206 x 311 x 65.0 (TASS) 
   205 x 302 x 64.9 (RAE) 
   89.50 202 x 297 x 65.0 
1963 Oct 26  0650?  Deorbit 
 0710?  Landed

Thursday, September 24, 1987

Interkosmos 8

 1972-094A


DS-U1-IK No. 2 (Interkosmos-8) was launched on 1972 Nov 30 by Kosmos-2 (11K63) from Plesetsk to study the polar ionosphere. It remained in orbit until Mar 1973.

Interkosmos-8 carried an ionospheric beacon and plasma detectors, provided by the DDR, the Soviet Union, the Czechoslovak Soviet Socialist Republic and the Bulgarian People's Republic.

Mass was 287 kg.


Interkosmos-8 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1972 Nov 30  2150 Launch by 11K63 Kosmos-2  NIIP-53  
 2152  S1 burn 
 2200? S1 sep 
   93.1 204 x 649 x 71.0 
1973 Feb 1   End of operations 
1973 Mar 2   Reentered 

Payload:

  • Ionospheric beacon

  • Langmuir probe

Friday, September 4, 1987

Gambit-3 16

 1968-074A


KH-8 16 (GAMBIT Mission 4316) was launched 1968 Sep 10 by Titan 3B Agena D from Vandenberg on a 15 day flight which epxerimented with color photography and tested an improved roll joint. It also introduced the RACS backup attitude control system, which was tested during the solo mission.

\peterfig{6}{01879s}


KH-8 16 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1968 Sep 10  1830  Launch by Titan 3B Agena D  V SLC4W 
 1832? Titan stage 1 sep 
 1832?  Titan stge 2 sep 
 1835?  Agena burn 
 1840? Agena MECO 
1968 Sep 10  1930   89.93 129 x 412 x 106.0 
1968 Sep 13  1917   89.44 122 x 370 x 106.1 
 2047   89.95 135 x 407 x 106.1 
1968 Sep 15  2041   89.59 126 x 381 x 106.0 
1968 Sep 17  1903   89.82 129 x 402 x 106.0 
1968 Sep 20  2217? SRV deorbit rev 163 
1968 Sep 21  0805   89.07 117 x 338 x 106.0 
 2000   89.29 138 x 339 x 106.0 
1968 Sep 23  1638   89.12 142 x 320 x 106.0 
1968 Sep 25   
 2238?  SRV-1 ejected 
 2245?  Entry 
 2310?  SRV-1 recovered 
 1400? Deboost rev 238 

Sunday, August 23, 1987

Kosmos 1654

 1985-039A




Kosmos-1654 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1985 May 23  1240 Launch by Soyuz  KB 
 1244  Blok A sep 
 1248  Blok-I sep 
1985 May 23    89.66 172 x 343 x 64.9 
1985 Jun 1    89.23 167 x 306 x 64.9 
1985 Jun 6    88.91 163 x 278 x 64.9 
1985 Jun 7   Orbit raise  89.60 184 x 324 x 64.9 
1985 Jun 10   SpK-1 fiducial 
 0758? Deorbit 
 0805?  Entry 
 0820?  Landed
1985 Jun 11    89.28 172 x 305 x 64.9 
1985 Jun 13   Orbit raise 89.60 188 x 320 x 64.9 
1985 Jun 21  0019  89.34 184 x 299 x 64.9

Corona 69

 1963-034A


The first KH-4A flight, mission 1001, was launched on 1963 Aug 25 as with Agena 1162. The first `bucket' of film was recovered on Aug 28, with some film being fogged. The attempt to use `zombie' mode in which CORONA was deactivated and later reactivated was unsuccessful. However, an object was cataloged in orbit which may represent the SRV-2 fairing. Orbital mass of Agena 1162 was 1605 kg; payload of J-1 was 639 kg on orbit implying a 966 kg Agena.


KH-4A Mission 1001 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1963 Aug 25  0029:58  Launch by TA Thor Agena D V Pad 4 
 0031  Castor sep (T+1:10) 
 0032  Thor MECO (T+2:28) 
 0032  Thor VECO (T+2:37) 
 0032  Thor sep (T+2:41) 
 0032  Agena burn (T+2:51) 
 0037  Agena MECO (T+6:54)  90.6 184 x 436 x 75.0 (VCR) 
1963 Aug 25  2106   90.52 173 x 426 x 75.0 
1963 Aug 29   Complete Mission 1001-1 
1963 Aug 29  
 0235?  SRV-1 sep, deorbit 
 0310  SRV-1 recovered  
  Predicted impact 170W 24N 
  Zombie mode rev 70  
1963 Aug 29?   Agena current inverter failed 
1963 Aug 31    90.21 168 x 401 x 75.0 
1963 Sep 3   Exit zombie mode rev 149; failed  
  Begin Mission 1001-2 
1963 Sep 6    89.49 159 x 338 x 75.0 
1963 Sep 6  0125  Fairing eject  148 x 280 x 75.0 
1963 Sep 6  0126  SRV-2 failed to eject (NRO-4A046) 
1963 Sep 7  0700   89.4 161 x 320 x 75.01 
1963 Sep 12  1400?  CORONA/Agena D reentered

Friday, August 21, 1987

Corona 76

  1964-008A


KH-4A Mission 1004 was the first fully successful twin-bucket flight. Agena vehicle 1174 replaced 1170 on the Thor booster after a failed countdown on 1964 Jan 20. It was launched by TAT Agena D into a 179 x 446 km orbit with an inclination of 75 degrees on 1964 Feb 15. The second bucket was recovered on Feb 23 and Agena 1174 reentered on Mar 9. The mission was successful, with minor film degradation due to static and light leaks. 


KH-4A Mission 1004 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1964 Feb 15  2138:24  Launch by TAT Agena D  V Pad 4 
  SRM burnout T+0:40 
 2139  Castor sep (T+1:05) 
 2140  Thor MECO (T+2:27) 
 2140  Thor VECO (T+2:36) 
 2140  Thor sep (T+2:40) 
 2140  Agena burn (T+2:48) 
 2144  Agena MECO (T+6:54)  90.42 186 x 463 x 75.03 (VCR) 
1964 Feb 16  0138   90.80 187 x 441 x 75.1 
1964 Feb 17  1701   90.76 179 x 446 x 74.9 
1964 Feb 17  1900   90.86 179 x 445 x 75.0 (RAE) 
1964 Feb 18  2349:39  SRV-1 ejected rev 49  
 2349:49  Retro 
 2350:01  T/C sep 
 2359:12  Main parachute deployed
1964 Feb 19  0025  SRV-1 recovered -60? x 250? x 74.9 
  Rev 49D, first 1004-2 photos 
1964 Feb 20  2043   90.76 175 x 449 x 74.9 
1964 Feb 22  2309 Fairing ejected 
1964 Feb 22  2310:00 SRV-2 ejected rev 112  
 2310:10  Retro 
 2310:22  T/C sep 
 2319:38  Main para 
1964 Feb 22  2346  SRV-2 recovered -60? x 250? x 74.9 
1964 Feb 26  0512   90.39 170 x 408 x 75.0 
1964 Feb 27  2323   90.20 178 x 391 x 75.0 
1964 Mar 5  1200   89.5 165 x 324 x 75.0 (RAE) 
1964 Mar 6  1107   89.15 162 x 303 x 75.0 
1964 Mar 9  2200? CORONA/Agena reentered 

Sunday, August 16, 1987

Kosmos 364

  1970-075A


Kosmos-364 was the third Zenit-4MK flight from Plesetsk at 65.4 deg. The mission was recovered after 10 days with the Kettering group detecting a TF beacon. 


Kosmos-364 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1970 Sep 22  1300:01  Launch by 11A57  PL 
 1304  Blok-I burn 
 1308  Blok-I sep 
 1714   89.65 205 x 308 x 65.4 
1970 Sep 24  1403   89.49 199 x 299 x 65.4 
1970 Sep 27  0611   89.45 200 x 293 x 65.4 
1970 Sep   Orbit raise 
1970 Sep 30  1740   89.55 188 x 315 x 65.6 
1970 Oct 1  1134   89.49 195 x 303 x 65.4 
1970 Oct 1  1200? Engine sep 
1970 Oct 2  0654? Retrofire 
 0704? PO sep 
 0710? Entry 
 0725?  Landed after 9.76d 

These Are Not My Beautiful Stories

  Summary: The chapters within are outlines for both future stories I’ve got planned (in the case that I never get around to writing them) a...