1967-F11
11F91 No. 4 was launched on 1967 Sep 27 but the Proton-K first stage failed. The descent module was recovered using the launch escape system, landing 65 km north of Baikonur. This vehicle would have been the first circumlunar attempt of the Zond program.
| L-1 No. 4L | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 Sep 27 | 2211:54 | Launch by Proton-K | KB LC81L |
| 2213:21 | Stage 1 failure T+87s (25 km?) | ||
| 2213 | Escape system used | ||
| 2215? | L-1 SA landed | ||
1972-045A
A year after the Soyuz-11 tragedy, a modified spacecraft, 11F615A8 No. 33A (A for automatic), was launched on a mission to test out changes made in the wake of the accident. It was given the cover name Kosmos-496. The six day flight seems to have been successful.
| Kosmos-496 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Jun 26 | 1453:00 | Launch by 11A511 | KB |
| 1458 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 1502 | Blok-I sep, LEO | 89.34 190 x 294 x 51.73 (TLE) | |
| 1700 | 89.65 184 x 331 x 51.72 (TLE) | ||
| 2130 | 89.64 185 x 329 x 51.6 (TLE) | ||
| 1972 Jun 28 | 89.57 189 x 318 x 51.6 | ||
| 1730 | 89.20 185 x 285 x 51.74 (TLE) | ||
| 1972 Jul 2 | 0230 | 88.80 177 x 254 x 51.6 (TLE) | |
| 1200? | BO sep (45C?) | ||
| 1310? | Retrofire | ||
| 1313? | DO CO | ||
| 1326? | Modules sep | ||
| 1331? | Entry | ||
| 1355 | Landed | ||
1973-061A
Molniya-1 (F29, N24) was launched on 1973 Aug 30 from Plesetsk into the B plane.
| Molniya-1 F29 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 Aug 30 | 0007:59 | 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 | |||
| 0016 | T+8:50 Blok-I sep | ||
| T+53:16 BOZ burn | |||
| 0101? | T+53:56 BOZ sep | ||
| ML burn | |||
| T+56:46 ML MECO | |||
| 0104? | T+56:54 ML sep | ||
| 1973 Sep 12 | 0516 | 717.71 440 x 39911 x 65.4 | |
| 1973 Sep 30 | 717.69 466 x 39884 x 65.4 | ||
| 1974 Feb 21 | Still operating | ||
| 1975 Jun 24 | 717.81 1256 x 39099 x 65.7 | ||
| 1976 Nov 12 | 717.84 1309 x 39048 x 65.5 | ||
| 1978 Apr 3 | 717.73 560 x 39791 x 65.3 | ||
| 1978 Dec 9 | 715.76 184 x 40070 x 65.0 | ||
| 1979 Jan 28 | 680.30 128 x 38360 x 64.9 | ||
| 1979 Apr 17 | Reentered | ||
1982-105A
Satcom 5 (Satcom RCA E) was launched for RCA's Alascom subsidiary for domestic Alaskan communications. It was the first of the Advanced Satcom series. It was renamed Aurora 1. Mass 1116 kg launch, 589 kg BOL. Bus 1.75 x 1.62 x 1.42m with 14?m span. 143 kg of hydrazine.
| Aurora 1 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 Oct 28 | 0127:49 | Launch by Delta 3924 | CC LC17A |
| T+0:57 SRM 1-6 burnout | |||
| T+1:02 SRM 7-9 burn | |||
| T+1:09 SRM 1-6 sep 18 km | -6320 x 22? | ||
| T+1:59 SRM 7-9 burnout | |||
| T+2:02 SRM 7-9 sep 47 km | -6100 x 75? | ||
| T+3:43 MECO | -4200 x 145? | ||
| T+3:51 St 1 sep | |||
| T+3:56 SES | |||
| 0132:03 | T+4:14 Fairing sep | -4100 x 150 ? | |
| 0137:50 | T+10:01 SECO-1 | 174 x 513 | |
| 0148:10 | T+20:21 SES-2 | ||
| 0149:25 | T+21:36 SECO-2 | 167 x 3956 | |
| 0150:27 | T+22:38 St 2 sep | ||
| 0151:08 | T+23:19 TES | ||
| 0151:52 | T+24:03 TECO | 176 x 36486 x 24.9 (MOR Post) | |
| 0153:15 | T+25:26 St 3 sep | ||
| 0206:17 | T+38:28 SES-3 depletion at 1060km | ||
| 0206:27 | T+38:38 SECO-3 | 132.28 239 x 4204 x 26.6 | |
| 1982 Oct 28 | 0800? | Apo 1 over 100E | |
| 1800 | Apo 2 over 59W | ||
| 1982 Oct 29 | 0430? | Apo 3 over 145E | |
| 1530? | Apo 4 over 20W | ||
| 1982 Oct 30 | 0300? | Apo 5 over 170E | |
| 1300? | Apo 6 over 15E | ||
| 2330? | Apo 7 over 145W | ||
| 1982 Oct 30 | 2319 | Star 30 burn | |
| 1982 Oct 31 | 1462.03 35994 x 36590 x 0.2 GEO 105.3W+6.4W | ||
| 1982 Nov 1 | 1450.58 35993 x 36145 x 0.2 GEO 106.5W-3.6W | ||
| 1982 Nov 9 | 1450.31 35991 x 36137 x 0.1 GEO 135.3W-3.5W | ||
| 1982 Nov 12 | mv in | 1436.06 35759 x 35811 x 0.2 GEO 143.1W | |
| 1986 May 14 | 1436.09 35776 x 35796 x 0.0 GEO 143.0W | ||
| 1988 | Owned by GE Alascom | ||
| 1989 Jan 23 | 1436.06 35782 x 35789 x 0.0 GEO 143.1W | ||
| 1990 Aug 28 | 1436.02 35780 x 35790 x 0.0 GEO 142.9W | ||
| 1991 Mar | Fuel problems | ||
| 1991 Mar | Traffic transfer to Satcom C-1 | ||
| 1991 Apr 4 | begin drift | 1436.02 35772 x 35798 x 0.1 GEO 143.0W+0.01E | |
| 1991 May 4 | 1435.82 35760 x 35801 x 0.2 GEO 141.8W+0.06E | ||
1968-076A
L-1 No. 9 was the first successful circumlunar flight. Two turtles became the first terrestrial organisms to escape from Earth's gravitational influence and return. The spacecraft reentered over the S Pole and landed in the Indian Ocean. The Soviet ship Borovichiy recovered the descent module and then transferred it to the Vasiliy Golovnin which returned it to Bombay, from where it was flown back to the USSR.
| Zond-5 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 Sep 14 | 2142 | Launch by Proton-K | KB |
| 2151 | Stage 3 sep | ||
| 4m15s coast | |||
| 2155 | Blok D burn 1, 1:48 | ||
| 2157 | Blok D MECO-1 | 202 x 240 x 51.5 | |
| 2249 | Blok-D burn 2 | ||
| 2251? | Blok D MECO-2 | ||
| Blok D sep | |||
| 1968 Sep 17 | 0311 | Orbit correction, at 320000 km | |
| 1968 Sep 18 | 0500? | Perilune 1950 km | |
| 1968 Sep 21 | 1200? | Orbit correction at 143000 km | 40 x 385000? |
| 1537 | PAO sep | ||
| 1968 Sep 21 | 1554 | Ballistic entry over S Pole | |
| 1608 | Landed in Indian Ocean 32 38S 65 33E | ||
| 1968 Oct 3 | Arrived by sea at Bombay | ||
| 1968 Oct 7 | Returned to Moscow | ||
1985-111A
Two-tone telemetry; Medium res satellite
| Kosmos-1705 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 Dec 3 | 1215 | Launch by Soyuz | PL |
| 1219 | Blok I burn | ||
| 1224 | Blok I MECO | ||
| 90.08 195 x 361 x 72.9 | |||
| 1985 Dec 4 | 0408? | Orbit raise | 92.27 356 x 415 x 72.9 |
| 1985 Dec 17 | 92.28 357 x 414 x 72.9 | ||
| 111D-111Q sep | |||
| 0612? | Deorbit | ||
| 0622? | PO sep | ||
| 0637? | Entry | -75 x 402 | |
| 0652? | Landed | ||
1968-054A
Zenit-4 No. 41 flew in Jun 1968 from Plesetsk.
| Kosmos-229 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 Jun 26 | 1100:01 | Launch by 11A57 | PL |
| 1104 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 1109 | Blok-I sep | ||
| 1968 Jun 27 | 0316 | 89.80 202 x 326 x 72.9 | |
| 1968 Jun 29 | 89.85 207 x 327 x 72.87 | ||
| 1968 Jul 2 | 0124 | 89.72 202 x 318 x 72.8 | |
| 1968 Jul 4 | 0553? | Deorbit | |
| 0615? | Landed after 7.79d | ||
1993-050A
NOAA I (NOAA 13) flew into space at 1002 on 1993 Aug 8 aboard an Atlas E from Vandenberg, with a new complement of instruments, into an afternoon SSO. However, on Aug 21 the spacecraft battery failed to charge and all contact was lost with the satellite at 2315 that day. Mass of NOAA 13 was 1712 kg before apogee motor firing.
| NOAA 13 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 Aug 9 | 1002 | Launch by Atlas E | V |
| T+2:01 BECO | |||
| T+2:04 BPJ Booster Package Jettison | |||
| T+2:30 NFJ Nose Fairing Jettison | |||
| T+5:10 SECO | |||
| T+5:30 VECO | |||
| 1002:35? | T+5:35 Atlas sep | -2800 x 810 x 98.7 | |
| 1015:49? | T+13:49 Star 37 burn | ||
| 1016:32? | T+14:32 Star 37 burnout | ||
| T+14:37 RCS start | |||
| T+14:51 RCS stop | |||
| T+17min? Hydrazine blowdown | |||
| T+30min arrays and booms deployed | |||
| 1993 Aug 21 | Battery failure | ||
| 2315 | Loss of contact | ||
1988-030A
Two-tone telemetry; Hi res satellite
| Kosmos-1938 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 Apr 11 | 1115:00 | Launch by Soyuz | PL |
| 1119 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 1123 | Blok-I sep | ||
| 1988 Apr 11 | 89.36 196x289x72.9 | ||
| 1988 Apr 12 | 89.65 224x290x72.9 | ||
| 1988 Apr 17 | 90.34 223x359x72.9 | ||
| 1988 Apr 19 | 90.37 217x369x72.9 | ||
| 1988 Apr 24 | 89.34 218x266x72.9 | ||
| 1988 Apr 25 | |||
| 0608? | Deorbit | ||
| 0617? | PO sep | ||
| 0625? | Entry | -195 x 248 x 72.9 | |
| 0640? | Landed | ||
1989-058A
RCS was 29m2,
| Kosmos-2033 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 Jul 24 | 0000:59 | Launch by Tsiklon | Baikonur |
| 0003 | Stage 1 sep | ||
| 0005 | Stage 2 sep | ||
| 0020 | 89.31 112x368x65.0 | ||
| 0049? | AKM burn | ||
| 1989 Jul 25 | 92.87 399x430x65.0 | ||
| 1989 Jul 29 | 92.77 402x417x65.0 | ||
| 1989 Dec 17 | 395x 414x 64.99 92.66 | ||
| 1989 Dec 18 | 412x 420x 65.00 92.90 | ||
| 1989 Dec 19 | 404x 424x 64.99 92.86 | ||
| 1989 Dec 20 | 400x 420x 64.99 92.77 | ||
| 1989 Dec 22 | Perigee lowered | ||
| 1991 Jan 1 | 89.92 202x338x65.0 | ||
| 1991 Jan 6 | reentered from 123x152x65.0 | ||
1966-094A
E-6LF No. 102 (Luna-12) was launched shortly after Luna-11’s mission ended. Launch mass was 1620 kg. LOI burn reduced lunar velocity from 2.085 km/s to 1.148 km/s with a 100 x 1740 km orbit.
| Luna-12 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 Oct 22 | 0842 | Launch by Molniya | KB |
| 0846 | Blok-A sep | ||
| 0846 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 0851 | Blok-I MECO | ||
| 0851? | Blok-I sep | ||
| 0947? | BOZ burn | ||
| 0948? | Blok-L burn | ||
| 0952? | Blok-L sep | ||
| 1966 Oct 23 | TCM | ||
| 1966 Oct 25 | 2043? | Modules separate | |
| 1966 Oct 25 | 2047 | Lunar orbit insertion | 205.4 101 x 1746 x 17.8 |
| 1966 Oct 29 | Photo mission begins | ||
| 1967 Jan | End of transmissions | ||
1985-096A
FSW No. 8 flew a standard 5 day mission in Oct 1985.
| FSW | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 Oct 21 | 0504 | Launch by CZ2 | JQ |
| 0506 | T+2:10 MECO | ||
| 0506 | Stage 2 burn | ||
| 0508? | T+4:02? Stage 2 MECO | ||
| 0511? | Stage 2 VECO | ||
| 0511? | CZ-2C sep | 172 x 395 x 63.0 | |
| 1985 Oct 22 | 90.11 171 x 388 x 63.0 | ||
| 1985 Oct 25 | 2110 | 89.99 170 x 377 x 63.0 | |
| 1985 Oct 26 | 0351 | Capsule landed in China | |
| 0910 | 89.98 171 x 374 x 63.0 | ||
| 1985 Oct 29 | 89.62 169 x 342 x 63.0 | ||
| 1985 Nov 6 | 88.02 147 x 205 x 63.0 | ||
| 1985 Nov 7 | Reentered | ||
1967-054A
Zenit-4 No. 30 was launched two days after the landing of No. 31. The mission was the second of the year to the Baikonur 51.8 degree slot.
| Kosmos-162 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 Jun 1 | 1040:02 | Launch by 11A57 | KB |
| T+4:55 Blok-I burn | |||
| 1048 | T+8:45 MECO | ||
| 1048 | Blok-I sep | 89.19 196 x 275 x 51.81 (RAE) | |
| 1967 Jun 1 | 1157 | 89.89 212 x 325 x 51.9 | |
| 2053 | 89.22 202 x 269 x 51.8 | ||
| 1967 Jun 6 | 89.12 198 x 263 x 51.8 | ||
| 1967 Jun 9 | 1210? | Deorbit | |
| 1244? | Landed | ||
1989-053A
ESA's experimental heavy communications technology satellite, L-SAT, was built by British Aerospace. The L-SAT program was renamed Olympus prior to launch. The satellite provided experimental direct broadcast TV and commercial services, and carried out 30/20 GHz propagation studies and tests of Italian inter-city communications.
| Olympus | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 Jul 12 | 0014:03 | Launch by Ariane 3 | CSG ELA1 |
| T+0:07 PAL burn | |||
| T+0:40 PAL sep | |||
| T+2:23 St 1 sep | |||
| T+2:26 St 2 MES | |||
| T+3:51 Fairing sep | |||
| T+4:34 St 2 sep | |||
| 0018:42 | T+4:39 St 3 MES | ||
| 0030:44 | T+16:41 St 3 MECO | ||
| 0034:06 | T+20:03 St 3 sep | 200 x 36084 x 6.2 (PK) | |
| 0052 | Perth acquires signal | ||
| 0120 | Solar arrays deploy | ||
| 1989 Jul 13 | 1230 | Apogee burn 103.5 min | |
| 1413 | Apogee burn complete | ||
| 1989 Jul 13 | 1381.97 33304 x 36136 x 0.2 GEO 29.3W+14.1E | ||
| 1989 Jul 15 | 1054 | Station acq, reverse drift, 50 min | |
| 1989 Jul 16 | 1381.33 33303 x 36112 x 0.2 GEO 11.8E+14.3E | ||
| 1989 Jul 20 | braking | 1437.71 35522 x 36113 x 0.3 GEO 1.7W+0.4W | |
| 1989 Jul 25 | Station acq burn | ||
| 1989 Aug 3 | mv in | 1435.88 35754 x 35810 x 0.1 GEO 19.0W | |
| 1989 Aug 25 | 1436.15 35776 x 35799 x 0.0 GEO 19.1W | ||
| 1989 Sep | Payload commissioning | GEO 19W | |
| 1989 Oct | Spacecraft commissioning from ESOC | ||
| 1989 Oct 10 | Control to Fucino for op mission | ||
| 1990 Jun 9 | 1436.10 35771 x 35801 x 0.0 GEO 19.0W | ||
| 1991 May 26 | 1436.13 35775 x 35799 x 0.0 GEO 19.0W | ||
| 1991 May 29 | Attitude control failed | ||
| 1991 Jun 2 | 1415.92 34994 x 35786 x 0.1 GEO 1.4E+5.1E | ||
| 1991 Jun 17 | 1415.87 34994 x 35784 x 0.1 GEO 77.3E+5.1E | ||
| 1991 Jul 3 | 1415.93 34992 x 35789 x 0.1 GEO 163.4E+5.1E | ||
| 1991 Jul 15 | 1415.89 34991 x 35788 x 0.2 GEO 141.0W+5.1W | ||
| 1991 Jul 31 | Spacecraft recovered | ||
| 1991 Aug 1 | Drifting | 1414.81 34926 x 35811 x 0.2 GEO 49.0W+5.2E | |
| 1991 Aug 2 | Burn 7m/s E | GEO +2.9/d | |
| 1991 Aug 6 | Inclination burn, 15 m/s | ||
| 1991 Aug 9 | Burn | 1424.16 35300 x 35805 x 0.2 GEO 22.8W+3.0E | |
| 1991 Aug 13 | Burn to keep in 0.1deg box | GEO 19W | |
| 1991 Aug 14 | Payload recommissioning | 1435.72 35769 x 35789 x 0.1 GEO 19.0W | |
| 1991 Sep 29 | 1436.06 35775 x 35796 x 0.2 GEO 19.0W | ||
| 1992 Oct 28 | 1436.10 35776 x 35796 x 0.5 GEO 18.9W | ||
| 1993 Aug 8 | 1436.13 35759 x 35814 x 1.2 GEO 19.1W | ||
| 1993 Aug 12 | Lost attitude control, safemode | ||
| 1993 Aug 23 | 1436.17 35729 x 35847 x 0.6 GEO 19.3W | ||
1991-081A
| Kosmos-2173 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 Nov 27 | 0330:26 | Launch by 11K65M | Plesetsk |
| T+2:10 St 1 MECO | |||
| T+2:12 St 1 sep | |||
| T+2:12 St 2 burn 59km | |||
| T+2:27 Fairing sep 76km | |||
| 0338? | T+8:03 St 2 MECO 150 km | 150 x 1003? x 83 | |
| T+1:02:19 St 2 MES2 | |||
| T+1:02:30 St 2 MECO2 | |||
| 0433? | T+1:02:50 St 2 sep | ||
| 1991 Nov 28 | 104.75 947x1018x82.9 | ||
1977-050A
US sources, reported by Nick Johnson, said that a successful intercept of Kosmos-909 happened on the first orbit at an altitude of about 1575 km. Based on the target orbit, the possible intercept times are around 0809 UTC over 105W 60S, and 0908 UTC over 42E 51N.
| Kosmos-918 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 Jun 17 | 0723:10 | Launch by 11K69 | KB |
| 0725 | Stage 2 burn | ||
| 0728 | Stage 2 sep | 88.19 127 x 243 x 65.1 | |
| 0800? | Move to eccentric orbit | ||
| 1977 Jun 17 | 245x1630x65.9? (NLJ) | ||
| 243 x 1760? x 65.9 | |||
| 1977 Jun 17 | 0908 | Intercepted K909 on rev 1 at 1575 km | |
| 0922? | Deorbit | ||
| 1977 Jun 17 | 0950? | reentered | |
1975-089A
Kosmos-770 returned to use of the 1200 km altitude orbit.
| Kosmos-770 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 Sep 24 | 1200 | Launch by 11K65M | PL |
| 1202 | Stage 2 burn | ||
| 1208? | Stage 2 MECO | ||
| 1253? | Stage 2 restart | ||
| 1253? | Stage 2 sep | ||
| 1975 Sep 24 | 109.2 1169 x 1210 x 83.0 | ||
1974-051A
The long delayed first piloted flight to an Almaz space station began on 1974 Jul 3 when veteran Vostok astronaut Pavel Popovich and rookie Yuriy Artyukhin boarded Soyuz 11F615A9 No. 62 for launch into orbit. The 7K-T ferry was announced as Soyuz-14.
| Soyuz-14 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 Jul 3 | 1851:08 | Launch by Soyuz | KB |
| 1853 | Blok BVGD sep | ||
| 1855 | Blok A sep | ||
| 1859 | Blok I MECO | ||
| 1859 | Blok-I sep | ||
| 195 x 217 x 51.6 | |||
| Orbit raise | 255 x 277 x 51.5 | ||
| 1974 Jul 4 | Rendezvous with Salyut-3 (Almaz 2) | ||
| Stationkeeping for several hours | |||
| 2105 | Docked with Salyut-3 | ||
| 1974 Jul 5 | 0130 | Hatch open | |
| 1974 Jul 19 | 0903 | Undocked from Salyut-3 | |
| 1132 | Retrofire | ||
| 1135 | DO CO | ||
| 1154? | Modules sep | ||
| 1200? | Entry | ||
| 1221:36 | Landed | ||
1986-084A
Resurs F-1 14F40 No. 61, the third 14F40 flight, was launched on 1986 Oct 31. After the first day it raised its orbit to 322 x 341 km, the first use of this higher altitude `medium resolution' orbit in the Resurs-F program.
| Kosmos-1789 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 Oct 31 | 0800 | Launch by Soyuz-U | PL LC16 |
| 0808 | Blok-I sep | 182 x 276 x 82.57 | |
| 1986 Nov 1 | |||
| 1986 Nov 2 | 322 x 341 x 82.6 | ||
| 1986 Nov 13 | 321 x 343 x 82.6 | ||
| 1986 Nov 14 | |||
| 0415? | Deorbit | ||
| 0425? | PO sep | ||
| 0439? | Entry | ||
| 0453? | Landed | ||
1992-063A
Mars Observer was built by GE Astro Space and based on the Series 4000 communications satellite, using subsystems from the Tiros N satellite bus. Mars Observer was launched at 1725:01 on 1992 Sep 25 by a Commercial Titan 3 (CT-4) from Cape Canaveral. The Titan core ignited at 1706:49, with the depleted SRMs falling away at 1706:57. By 1708 the stack was at 85km altitude. Stage 1 separated at 1709:29 as stage 2 ignited, burning until 1713:06. A stage 2 velocity trim burn at 1714:23 to 1714:59 left the rocket in a 161 x 542 km x 29.3 deg parking orbit. The CT-4 second stage separated at 1720 from its payload, the Mars Observer and the Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS). The Orbital Sciences Corp. TOS stage was named the USS Thomas O. Paine. TOS ignited at 1744:52 for a 2 min 37 sec burn. It separated at 1758:32, leaving Mars Observer in solar orbit. TOS made an avoidance maneuver at 1802:32, and at 1825 the Titan stage made a perigee-lowering burn to 138 x 429 km x 29.4 deg to ensure rapid reentry. Telemetry coverage had been lost during the TOS flight, so there was considerable relief when Mars Observer telemetry was acquired at 1829:01 on Sep 25.
TOS end velocity was 11.43 km/s. The initial MO aimpoint may have been biased about 1 M km away from Mars; (a 2 Mkm bias was planned for the original expected launch date). The further avoidance manuever by the TOS would have put it beyond the planet's gravitational sphere.
A 50 m/s TCM-1 burn was made at 2202 on Oct 10, followed by a 10 m/s TCM-2 burn at 2200 on 1993 Feb 8 and the TCM-3 burn at 1900 on Mar 18. The flight plan called for a Mars orbit insertion burn at 2042 on 1993 Aug 24, resulting in a 75 hr orbit with a periapsis of 500 km. An orbit change on Sep 15 to a 1-day orbit would have been followed by burns on Oct 17 and Oct 28 to a Mars Sun Synchronous 2pm orbit at 378 x 430 km x 92.8 deg. However, when the propellant tanks were pressurized on Aug 21, all contact with Mars Observer was lost. An engine system intended for short duration missions was later found to be inadequate for the long interplanetary cruise, and mixing of fuel and oxidizer which had leaked into the wrong part of the system probably caused the spacecraft to shed debris.
| Mars Observer | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 Sep 25 | 1705:01 | Launch by Titan 3 | |
| 1706:49 | St 1 burn | ||
| 1706:57 | SRM sep | ||
| 1708:52 | T+3:51 Fairing | ||
| 1709:29 | St 1 sep | ||
| 1713:12 | St 2 MECO | ||
| 1714:23 | St 2 vel trim | ||
| 1714:59 | St 2 VECO | 163 x 541 x 29.38 | |
| 1720:01 | St 2 sep | ||
| 1744:52 | TOS burn 2:24? | ||
| 1747:29 | TOS burnout | 350 x -79540 ? | |
| 1758:32 | TOS sep | ||
| 1802:32 | TOS avoidance | ||
| 1825:01 | St 2 depletion | 138 x 429 x 29.3 | |
| 1829:01 | MO telem acq | ||
| 1992 Sep 26 | 0216 | Pass EL1:4 | |
| 1992 Sep 30 | 0850? | Solar orbit | |
| 1992 Oct 1 | 0945 | Stage 2 reentry over 13S 150W | |
| 1992 Oct 9 | 4.5 Mkm range, 10.8 km/s E-rel | ||
| 1992 Oct 10 | 2200 | TCM-1 50m/s 2:13 R=5Mkm | |
| 1993 Feb 8 | 2200 | TCM-2 9.6 m/s 35s | |
| 1993 Mar 18 | 1900 | TCM-3 | |
| 1993 Aug 19 | 2330? | Enter Mars sphere | |
| 1993 Aug 22 | 0021 | Last telemetry sent | |
| 0031 | Pyros fired | ||
| 0035 | LOS | ||
| 1993 Aug 24 | 2010? | Flyby Mars | |
| 2027? | 1730 km alt, MOI burn begins, 29 min (planned) | ||
| 2040 | Planned MOI? (arrival press kit) | ||
| 2042 | Planned periapsis | ||
| Would reduce V(Mars) from 5.28 km/s to 4.56 km/s | |||
| 1993 Aug 29 | 1750? | MO leaves Mars sphere | |
| 1993 Sep 1 | 586d 1.13 x 1.61 AU x 6.67 | ||
