1972-065A
OAO C carried the Princeton Experiment Package, an 0.8m telescope for ultraviolet spectroscopy of bright stars. Launch was at 1028 on 1972 Aug 21 by Atlas Centaur from Cape Kennedy. The Centaur AC-22 stage ignited for a single 7.5 minute burn at 1032. At 1040 OAO 3 was inserted into a 99.5 min, 736 x 744 km x 35.0 deg orbit. Centaur AC-22 vented its excess propellant at 1045 to make sure the stage would not share OAO 3's orbit. The sun baffle cover was jettisoned on rev 6. After an 8 day test period, Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 3 was declared operational on Aug 29. The satellite was renamed Copernicus in honor of the 500th anniversary of the famous astronomer Nikolai Kopernik (1473-1543). Copernicus carried out astronomical observations until 1980 Dec 30; after a series of engineering tests, it was switched off on 1981 Feb 15.
| OAO 3 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Aug 21 | 1028:02 | Launch by Atlas Centaur | CKAFS LC36B |
| T+2:34 BECO | |||
| T+2:37? Booster sep | |||
| T+3:16 Insulation panels sep | |||
| T+3:47 SECO | |||
| T+3:50 Atlas sep | -5950? x 300? x 35.0 | ||
| 1032 | T+4:00 Centaur MES | ||
| T+4:12 Fairing sep | |||
| 1039:26 | T+11:24 Centaur MECO | 99.5 736 x 744 x 35.0 | |
| T+11:34 Solar paddles deployed | |||
| T+11:50 Balance booms extended | |||
| 1040:16 | T+12:14 Centaur sep | ||
| T+25min Centaur blowdown | |||
| 1920 | Rev 6 near VAFB | ||
| 1928 | Sun baffle sep, rev 6 | ||
| 1972 Aug 29 | Operational | ||
| 1980 Dec 30 | End of ops | ||
| 1981 Feb 15 | Decommissioned | ||
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