Saturday, December 15, 1990
Friday, December 14, 1990
Surveyor D-2
1965-064A
The Atlas Centaur AC-6 mission successfully demonstrated the Surveyor direct ascent launch profile and the MA-5 engine. Liftoff was on 1965 Aug 11 at 1431:06. The Centaur stage made a single burn at 1435:12 for 7 min 12 sec and injected the Surveyor Dynamic Model D-2 spacecraft into a 168 x 820493 km x 28.6 deg orbit. The 945 kg SD-2, which was a detailed Surveyor spaceframe dynamic model with a dummy solar panel, antenna and retromotor, transmitted until 1030 on Aug 12. The equipment was mounted on the dummy retro. Centaur test flights would henceforth concentrate on proving the two-burn mission profile.
| SD-2/AC-6 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 Aug 11 | 1431:04 | Launch by AC-6 | CC LC36 |
| 1433:26 | T+2:22 BECO 58 km | -5991 x 122 | |
| 1433:29 | T+2:25 Booster sep | ||
| T+2:51 Insulation sep | -5911? x 125? | ||
| T+3:16 Fairing sep | -5794? x 175? | ||
| 1435 | T+3:54 Atlas SECO 142 km | -5540 x 193 | |
| 1435 | T+3:56 Atlas sep | ||
| 1435:12 | T+4:03 Centaur MES | ||
| T+8:20 | -2914 x 244 | ||
| T+10:00 | 181? x 2850? | ||
| 1442:19 | T+11:19 Centaur MECO | ||
| 1443:32 | SD-2 sep | ||
| 1965 Aug 11 | 1443:32 | SD-2 orbit | 166 x 815085 x 28.56 (GD) |
| 1445:33 | Centaur retro venting | ||
| 1501 | AC-6 retro end, post retro | 166 x 815042 x 28.56 | |
| 1965 Aug 28 | 0002 | SD-2 first apogee, 830866 | |
| 1965 Sep 9 | 2200? | SD-2 lunar flyby 66000 km | |
| 1965 Sep 13 | 0451 | SD-2 perigee 2 | 33845 x 1013422 |
| 1965 Oct 4 | 1416 | SD-2 apogee 2 1013422 km | |
| 1965 Oct 27 | 0617 | SD-2 perigee 3, 96942 km | 96942 x 982222 |
| 1965 Nov 18 | 1712 | SD-2 apogee 3 at 982222 km | |
| 1967 Oct 31 | In solar orbit | ||
Nimbus 1
1964-052A
Nimbus I (Nimbus A before launch) was the first of NASA's advanced meteorological satellite testbeds (Nimbus is Latin for `cloud'). The satellite was three axis stabilized and had two `butterfly wing' solar panels on either side of the truss structure at whose base the scientific instruments were carried. Nimbus I's payload included cameras and an infrared radiometer. It also carried an experimental SNAP-19 nuclear radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) for supplementary power.
The satellite was launched on a Thor Agena B at 0757 on 1964 Aug 28 and reached orbit at 0854. However, the Agena B 6201 second stage did not generate the planned thrust and the expected circular orbit was not achieved. The Agena shut down 2 seconds early when it ran out of fuel. It placed 1167 kg in orbit. Nimbus ended up in a 429 x 937 km x 98.7 deg orbit instead of the planned 924 x 941 km x 99.1 deg one. It operated until 1964 Sep 23 when the solar panels locked up. It did get enough sunlight by Dec 8 to transmit a few photos. Nimbus I reentered over New South Wales at 2112 on 1974 May 16.
| Nimbus 1 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 Aug 28 | 0756:57 | Launch by Thor Agena B | V 75-1-1 |
| 0759:25 | Thor MECO (T+2:28) | ||
| 0759:34 | Thor VECO (T+2:37) | ||
| 0759:42 | Thor sep (T+2:45) | ||
| 0800:05 | Agena burn (T+3:08) | ||
| 0804:04 | Agena MECO (T+7:07), 160 km | ||
| 0854 | Agena burn 2 | ||
| 0854 | Agena MECO-2, depletion | 98.32 423 x 933 x 98.66 (VCR) | |
| 0856? | MECO-2+1:52 Agena 6201 sep | ||
| 1900 | 98.42 429 x 937 x 98.66 (RAE) | ||
| 1964 Sep 23 | End of ops | ||
| 1964 Dec 8 | Last tx | ||
| 1969 Sep 16 | 96.48 412 x 768 x 98.66 (RAE) | ||
| 1971 Dec 1 | 94.56 385 x 611 x 98.66 (RAE) | ||
| 1974 May 16 | 2112 | Reentered | |
Payload:
- AVCS Advanced Vidicon Camera System
- APT Automatic Picture Transmission