1976-004A
The Communications Research Centre of the Canadian Dept. of Communications developed and operated the CTS communications technology satellite, renamed Hermes after launch in Jan 1976. ESA also participated in the program.
During transfer and early orbit ops, the spacecraft was spin-stabilized and got power from arrays mounted on the two JBSAs (Jettisonable Body Solar Arrays) mounted as covers on the main solar arrays. The JBSAs were ejected to begin solar array deployment. They were 4 kg each and around 1.8m x 0.5m x 0.1m (guess). AKM was postponed from the 5th to the 7th apogee while the thrusters were debugged. 10 kg of hydrazine was used in reaching station at 116W. It was used for tele-education, medecine,conferencing, community development in remote regions, and broadcasting. CTS was stationed at 116W until 1979, when it moved to 142W for joint experiments with the Australian Postal and Telecoms Dept.
| CTS 1 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 Jan 17 | 2327:54 | Launch by Delta 2914 | CC LC17B |
| T+38s SRM 1-6 burnout | |||
| T+77s SRM 7-9 burnout | |||
| T+85s SRM 1-9 sep | |||
| T+226s MECO | |||
| T+234s St 1 sep | |||
| T+238s St 2 burn | |||
| T+276s Fairing | |||
| 2337:50 | T+556s SECO-1 | 185 x 185 x 28.3 | |
| 2352:40 | T+1486s SES-2 | ||
| 2352:48 | T+1494s SECO-2 | 177 x 547 x 28.7 | |
| 2353:19 | T+1525s St 2 sep | ||
| 2353:32 | T+1538s St 3 burn | ||
| 2354:16 | T+1582s St 3 burnout | 182 x 36220 x 27.2 | |
| 2355:56 | T+1682s St 3 sep | ||
| 1976 Jan 18 | 1551 | 627.47 164 x 35635 x 27.2 | |
| 1976 Jan 20 | 0019 | 205 x 36022 x 27.29 | |
| 1976 Jan 20 | 2041 | Star 27 AKM burn 143W, 11.4E/d | 33711 x 36016 x 0.71 |
| 1976 Jan 21 | 2024 | TCM-1 to 9.4E/d at 131W | |
| 1976 Jan 22 | 1943 | TCM-2 to 2.2E/d | 35198 x 36027 x 0.68 |
| 1976 Jan 26 | 1853 | TCM-3 to 1.5W/d | |
| 1976 Jan 28 | 0656 | TCM-4 to 0.3W/d | |
| 1976 Jan 29 | 0705 | TCM-5, at 116W | 35781 x 35797 x 0.66 |
| 1976 Jan 30 | Despin | ||
| 1976 Feb 1? | JBSA jettison | ||
| 1976 Feb 1? | Solar arrays extended | ||
| 1976 Feb 1 | Declared operational | ||
| 1976 Feb 4 | SKM 0.04m/s | ||
| 1976 Feb 7 | SKM | ||
| 1976 Mar 12 | SKM | ||
| 1976 Apr 2 | SKM | ||
| 1976 May 17 | SKM | ||
| 1976 May 21 | In service, named Hermes | ||
| 1976 Jun 25 | SKM | ||
| 1976 Jul 29 | SKM | ||
| 1976 Aug 26 | SKM | ||
| 1977 Jan 20 | 1436.08 35759 x 35813 x 0.1 GEO 116.2W | ||
| 1979 Jan | TV broadcasts to remote communities | ||
| 1979 Jun | Hermes program complete | ||
| 1979 Jul 25 | 1436.14 35753 x 35821 x 1.3 GEO 116.8W | ||
| 1979 Jul | Move to 142W | ||
| 1979 Aug 20 | 1436.19 35747 x 35829 x 1.3 GEO 142.0W+0.03W | ||
| 1979 Sep 2 | GEO 142W | ||
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