1973-009A
SO No. 502 (Prognoz-3) was launched in Feb 1973 into a 590 x 200000 km highly elliptical orbit.
| Prognoz-3 SO No. 502 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 Feb 15 | 0111:53 | Launch by Molniya-M | KB |
| 0120 | Blok-I MECO | ||
| 0120 | Blok I sep | ||
| 0213? | Blok-L burn | ||
| 0217? | Blok-L MECO | ||
| 0217? | Blok-L sep | ||
| 1400 | 5783.0 590 x 200000 x 65.0 | ||
| 2046? | Pass EL1:4 | ||
| 1974 Nov | Still operational | ||
1963-047A
The second Centaur mission, using Centaur vehicle 2B, was an orbital attempt. The Centaur carried an instrumentation ring on the nose of the Centaur tank. The launch was around 1900 UT on 1963 Nov 27 from Complex 36A at Cape Canaveral. The Atlas burned for around 4 minutes and fell away; the Centaur's RL10 engines ignited on time for its single burn, and entered a 544 x 1699 km x 30.3 deg orbit. This marked the first successful use of a hydrogen-oxygen rocket. After orbital insertion, venting of excess hydrogen caused the stage to tumble, reaching 48 revs per minute within an hour after launch. Around 2230 UT the tumbling caused insulation blankets and nose fairing on the Centaur to be thrown off, resulting in six large debris objects and several smaller ones being tracked.
| AC-2 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 Nov 27 | 1903:23 | Launch by AC-2 | CC LC36A |
| 1905:52 | T+2:29 BECO | ||
| 1905:53 | T+2:30 Booster sep | ||
| 1907:11 | T+3:48 SECO | ||
| 1907:16 | T+3:53 VECO | ||
| 1907:16? | T+3:53 Atlas sep 190 km 3.31 km/s | ||
| 1907:26 | T+4:03 Centaur MES, 6:20 | ||
| 1913:46 | T+10:23 Centaur MECO | ||
| Centaur verniers, 12s | |||
| 1913:58 | Centaur VECO | ||
| 2030? | Power failed | ||
| Stage tumbling | |||
| 2230 | Insulation blankets separate | ||
| 2230 | Nose fairing separates | ||
1965-066A
Zenit-2 No. 30 used a unique 68.9 degree inclination, the only time the USSR ever launched a satellite to an orbit with that inclination.
| Kosmos-78 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 Aug 14 | 1056:46 | Launch by Vostok 8A92 | KB |
| 1102? | Blok-E burn | ||
| 1107? | Blok-E sep | ||
| 1400 | 89.8 206 x 329 x 69.0 (TASS) | ||
| 1946 | 89.57 208 x 298 x 68.9 | ||
| 1965 Aug 15 | 0913 | 89.57 177 x 328 x 69.0 | |
| 1965 Aug 18 | 0723 | 89.55 199 x 304 x 69.0 | |
| 1965 Aug 22 | 0824? | Deorbit | |
| 0844? | Landed | ||
1985-044A
Resurs F-1 17F41 No. 54 (Kosmos-1657) flew a 14 day mission in Jun 1985.
| Kosmos-1657 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 Jun 7 | 0745 | Launch by Soyuz-U | PL LC43/4 |
| 0753 | Blok-I sep | 182 x 287 x 82.3 | |
| 1985 Jun 8 | 259 x 275 x 82.3 | ||
| 1985 Jun 15 | 265 x 276 x 82.3 | ||
| 1985 Jun 18 | 259 x 275 x 82.3 | ||
| 1985 Jun 21 | |||
| 0400? | Deorbit | ||
| 0410? | PO sep | ||
| 0418? | Entry | ||
| 0434? | Landed | ||
1964-080A
DS-MT No. 3 (Kosmos-51) was the final scientific launch of 1964, and carried an airglow photometer and an instrument to study the ultraviolet sky background and make a sky survey. The aspect solution was not available, preventing identification of the stars detected. It was the first launch using the Dvina type ShPU silo at LC86; the Dvina silo was developed for R-12U military IRBM launches.
| Kosmos-51 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 Dec 9 | 2300 | Launch by 63S1 | GTsP4 LC86/1 |
| 2302 | |||
| 2307 | Stage 2 sep | 92.4 262 x 533 x 48.8 | |
| 1964 Dec 31 | End of science data? | ||
| 1965 Jan 4 | End of transmissions | ||
| 1965 Nov 18 | 2125? | Reentered | |
1987-107A
Two-tone telemetry; Hi res satellite
| Kosmos-1905 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 Dec 25 | 0845 | Launch by Soyuz | KB |
| 0849 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 0854 | Blok-I sep | ||
| 1987 Dec 25 | 89.30 207x273x70.4 | ||
| 1987 Dec 26 | 89.59 228x281x70.4 | ||
| 1988 Jan 3 | 89.54 227 x 276 x70.4 | ||
| 1988 Jan 6 | |||
| 0530? | Deorbit | ||
| 0540? | PO sep | ||
| 0547? | Entry | -180 x 250 x 70.4 | |
| 0605? | Landed | ||
1961-035B
SAMOS 5 (FTV 2203) reached orbit on 1961 Dec 22 after launch by Atlas Agena B from Point Arguello Naval Missile Facility. The Atlas SECO (main engine cutoff) came late, giving an extra 0.1 km/s velocity to the Agena. The orbit achieved was about 230 x 650 km; without the excess velocity it would have been about 230 km circular. LMSC-448564 suggests that the orbit should have been 90.9 min, 230 x 410 km x 90.0. On this flight, the SPS was not carried on the Agena.
The payload was a Program 101B SAMOS film return satellite with a 1.7-meter focal length prototype panoramic camera. Three objects were cataloged in orbit, identified by NORAD as the payload, the Agena, and a `reflector', probably the mirror shown in the Lockheed document (see SAMOS 4).
Comparing with the E-5 mission profile, I identify these as the reentry vehicle, the Agena, and the mirror. The Agena and payload reentered within a few weeks, with their orbits on Dec 25 showing 187 km perigees. I concluded that the recovery attempt was initiated prior to Dec 25 (the date of the first element sets for the low orbit objects) but failed to completely deorbit the vehicle, perhaps because of the high apogee, leaving the Agena and capsule in a 187 x 300 km orbit. (Note: late 1980s editions of the SATCAT give the payload as Alpha Lambda 3, while mid 1990s editions claim it is Alpha Lambda 1; I suspect the reassignment is an error). The Perry history says that a faulty command triggered recovery on rev 6, but incorrectly says that the payload ended in a higher orbit.
Based on a 1960 briefing document, the mass breakdown was: 2580 kg on orbit, including 630 kg Agena dry, 320 kg Agena prop, 730 kg E-5 spacecraft, 900 kg E-5 reflector and RV. (These figures are converted from imperial units and are only accurate to 1 significant figure).
The HEXAGON mapping camera history quotes a 2615 kg mass on orbit, with 692 kg recovery capsule.
| SAMOS 5 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 Dec 22 | 1912:33 | Launch by Atlas Agena B | NMFPA |
| 1914:52 | BECO (T+2:19) | ||
| 1916:58 | SECO (T+4:25), LOX depletion | ||
| 1917:10 | VECO (T+4:37) | ||
| 1917:15 | Atlas sep (T+4:42) | ||
| 1918:08 | Agena burn (T+5:35) | ||
| 1921:48 | Agena MECO (T+9:15) | 95.0 min 230 x 650 x ? (VCR) | |
| 1961 Dec 23 | 0500? | Command programmer to recovery mode, rev 6 | |
| 1961 Dec 23 | Reflector jettisoned | ||
| Agena B burn (deorbit attempt) | |||
| Agena B MECO (premature) | |||
| Payload RV separated | |||
| 1961 Dec 24 | 0536 | Reflector orbit | 95.24 235 x 825 x 89.7 |
| 1961 Dec 25 | 2154 | Agena orbit | 89.32 187 x 294 x 89.6 |
| 1961 Dec 25 | 2157 | Payload orbit | 89.49 187 x 310 x 89.61 |
| 1961 Dec 28 | Reflector orbit | 94.1 237 x 706 x 89.5 (SATCAT) | |
| 1961 Dec 30 | 0542 | Agena orbit | 88.30 180 x 200 x 89.7 |
| 1961 Dec 31 | Agena reentered (AlphaLambda2) over Borneo | ||
| 1962 Jan 4 | 0449 | Payload orbit | 87.96 139 x 208 x 89.7 |
| 1962 Jan 9 | Payload reentered (AlphaLambda3) over NW Canada | 89.4 187 x 310 x 89.6 (SATCAT) | |
| 1962 Mar 13 | Reflector orbit | 94.1 244 x 702 x 89.6 (RAE) | |
| 1962 Jun 5 | Reflector orbit | 92.1 228 x 524 x 89.6 (RAE) | |
| 1962 Aug 3 | 1430 | Reflector orbit | 89.6 201 x 299 x 89.6 (RAE) |
| 1962 Aug 12 | 1936 | Reflector orbit | 88.12 181 x 181 x 89.7 |
| 1962 Aug 14 | SAMOS 5 reflector reentered (AlphaLambda1) | ||
1986-040A
Resurs F-1 17F41 No. 58 (Kosmos-1746) was the 28th and final flight of the original 17F41 type Resurs-F payload, flown in May-Jun 1986.
| Kosmos-1746 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 May 28 | 0750 | Launch by Soyuz-U | PL LC43/4 |
| 0758 | Blok-I sep | 179 x 280 x 82.3 | |
| 1986 May 29 | 0455? | Orbit raise | 257 x 274 x 82.3 |
| 1986 Jun 10 | 258 x 272 x 82.3 | ||
| 1986 Jun 12 | |||
| 0350? | Deorbit | ||
| 0400? | PO sep | ||
| 0410? | Entry | ||
| 0423? | Landed | ||
