Sunday, December 28, 1997
Friday, December 26, 1997
Kosmos 1376
1982-056A
17F41 No. 18, the eighth Resurs F-1 flight, was launched in Jun 1982 and named Kosmos-1376. It flew a 14 day mission.
| Kosmos-1376 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 Jun 8 | 0745 | Launch by Soyuz-U | PL LC43/3 |
| 0753 | Blok-I sep | 89.10 217 x 240 x 82.3 | |
| 1982 Jun 9 | 89.18 217 x 248 x 82.3 | ||
| 1982 Jun 10 | Orbit raise | 89.88 255 x 280 x 82.3 | |
| 1982 Jun 12 | 89.88 261 x 273 x 82.3 | ||
| 1982 Jun 14 | 89.85 259 x 272 x 82.3 | ||
| 1982 Jun 16 | Orbit trim | 89.95 263 x 278 x 82.3 | |
| 1982 Jun 17 | 89.94 262 x 278 x 82.3 | ||
| 1982 Jun 18 | Orbit trim | 90.04 263 x 288 x 82.3 | |
| 1982 Jun 22 | 90.02 263 x 286 x 82.3 | ||
| 0403? | Deorbit | ||
| 0410? | PO sep | ||
| 0424? | Entry | -151 x 261 | |
| 0436? | Landed | ||
Thursday, December 25, 1997
Kosmos 1679
1985-078A
Kosmos-1679 was flown overlapping with Kosmos-1676. The satellite flew a standard mission with three orbit raise burns to restore the original orbit.
| Kosmos-1679 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 Aug 29 | 1133 | Launch by Soyuz | KB |
| 1137 | Blok-A sep | ||
| 1141 | Blok-I sep | ||
| 1985 Aug 29 | 89.67 174 x 342 x 64.9 | ||
| 1985 Sep 7 | 89.23 168 x 304 x 64.9 | ||
| 1985 Sep 8 | Orbit raise | 89.78 174 x 352 x 64.9 | |
| 1985 Sep 18 | SpK-1 fiducial | ||
| 0601? | Deorbit | ||
| 0611? | Entry | ||
| 0622? | Landed | ||
| 1985 Sep 21 | 89.08 166 x 291 x 64.9 | ||
| 1985 Sep 21 | Orbit raise | 89.83 174 x 357 x 64.9 | |
| 1985 Oct 6 | SpK-2 fiducial | ||
| 0021? | Deorbit | ||
| 0031? | Entry | ||
| 0043? | Landed | ||
| 1985 Oct 7 | 88.96 165 x 280 x 64.9 | ||
| 1985 Oct 7 | Orbit raise | 89.74 173 x 350 x 64.9 | |
| 1985 Oct 18 | 89.13 167 x 294 x 64.9 | ||
| 1985 Oct 20 | |||
| 2043? | Deorbit | ||
| 2056? | Entry | ||
| 2108? | Land | ||
Kosmos 1629
1985-016A
Kosmos-1629 was placed at 77E for checkout in Mar-Apr 1985, and then at 36E for further tests in Jun-Jul 1985. It reached its operational station at 24W in Sep 1985, and lasted there for about a year before drifting off.
| Kosmos-1629 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 Feb 21 | 0757 | Launch by Proton | KB |
| 0806 | Stage 3 sep | ||
| 0900? | DM burn 1 | ||
| 1420? | DM burn 2 | ||
| 1440? | DM sep | ||
| 1985 Feb 21 | 1452.15 36056 x 36143 x 1.3 GEO 91.4E+4.0W | ||
| 1985 Apr 4 | Checkout | 1436.08 35097 x 36475 x 1.2 GEO 77.4E+0.0W | |
| 1985 Apr 29 | mv out | 1440.19 35783 x 35950 x 1.1 GEO 55.2E+1.0W | |
| 1985 May 17 | 1440.09 35788 x 35941 x 1.1 GEO 36.0E+1.0W | ||
| 1985 May 30 | mv in | 1436.08 35633 x 35939 x 1.1 GEO 35.5E | |
| 1985 Jun 28 | 1436.00 35757 x 35811 x 1.0 GEO 34.7E | ||
| 1985 Jul 23 | 1435.82 35778 x 35783 x 0.9 GEO 35.9E+0.06E | ||
| 1985 Jul 25 | mv out | ||
| 1985 Sep 6 | mv in | 1435.96 35782 x 35784 x 0.8 GEO 24.1W+0.03E | |
| 1986 Mar 9 | 1436.09 35774 x 35798 x 0.3 GEO 24.3W | ||
| 1986 Oct 11 | Last burn | ||
| 1986 Nov? | end of tx | ||
| 1986 Dec 22 | 1436.19 35778 x 35798 x 0.4 GEO 23.8W+0.03W | ||
| 1987 Feb 9 | drifting | 1436.31 35777 x 35804 x 0.6 GEO 26.0W+0.06W | |
| 1989 Sep 7 | 1434.53 35743 x 35768 x 3.0 GEO 118.9W+0.4E | ||
| 1992 Aug 7 | 1436.78 35783 x 35816 x 5.6 GEO 165.1W+0.2W | ||
| 1995 Jan 20 | 1436.43 35779 x 35807 x 7.9 GEO 28.6W+0.1W | ||
Mars Pathfinder
1996-068A
Mars Pathfinder was originally part of the cancelled NASA-Ames MESUR project. It became a NASA Discovery program mission developed at JPL.
At launch the spacecraft is 2.7m wide and 1.5m high. Mass is 880 kg (795 kg dry).
The craft has eight 4 N monopropellant hydrazine thrusters from cruise propulsion. At entry. mass is 585 kg including 324 kg lander.
The EDL (entry descent and landing) system has three Thiokol Star 5D RAD motors each 7.9 kN thrust. These burn for 2.2s (before the bridle is cut).
Star 5D is 0.83l 0.12dia with 17.6 kNs impulse, 5.6kN thrust for 3.0s and 256s Isp-eff, mass 10 kg full 3 kg dry.
Entry was at 14.06 deg at 3522 km radius (125 km above the 3397 km nominal radius) over 21.831 W, 22.630N with inertial velocity 7.264 km/s and azimuth 253.1 deg. Because the entry was retrograde, the relative velocity was 7.479 km/s. This corresponds to an orbit of -11 x -9793 km x 152 deg.
Entry speed 27000 kph; MPF slows with a heat shield and then deploys a 12.7m diameter parachute. The lander then separates from the backshell, remaining attached to it by a 20m bridle (tether). The 5-m diameter cluster of airbags then inflate. The three RAD motors fire for 2.25 seconds with 7.94kN each; after 2.0 seconds the bridle is cut and the airbag-enclosed lander falls to the surface, while the rockets pull the parachute away from the landing site. MPF bounced across the surface for several minutes and about one kilometer. Then the air bags slowly deflate over three hours. The lander deploys petals to turn itself upright and deploys the six-wheeled Sojourner micro-rover.
After launch on 1996 Dec 2, MPF experienced problems with a sun sensor, but flight controllers successfully programmed a workaround. The spacecraft was inserted into a Type I fast transfer orbit to Mars. B-plane miss distance at launch was 477000 km with a closest approach at 0915 UTC on 1997 Jul 3, reduced to a 4800 km miss by TCM-1 and 2.
Landing on 1997 Jul 4 was at 19.33N, 33.55W. On Jul 6, the lander was renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station after the planetary scientist and science popularizer (1934-1996).
Landed mass included airbags is 370 kg.
| MPF | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 Dec 4 | 0658:07 | Launch | CC LC17B |
| 0659:10 | SRM x 6 burnout | ||
| 0659:12 | SRM x 3 burn | ||
| 0659:13 | SRM x 6 sep | ||
| 0700:16 | SRM x 3 burnout | ||
| 0700:18 | SRM x 3 sep | ||
| 0702:28 | MECO | ||
| 0702:34 | VECO | ||
| 0702:36 | Stage 1 sep | ||
| 0702:41 | Stage 2 burn | ||
| 0702:46 | Fairing sep | ||
| 0707:35 | SECO 1 | 173 x 191 x 28.7 | |
| 0804:29 | Stage 2 restart over KMR | ||
| 0806:01 | SECO 2 | 177 x 3083 x 28.7 | |
| 0806:51 | Spinup | ||
| 0806:54 | Stage 2 sep | ||
| 0807:32 | Stage 3 burn | ||
| 0808:59 | Stage 3 burnout | ||
| 0813:37 | Yoyo despin | ||
| 0813:42 | Stage 3 sep | ||
| Stage 2 depletion | 148 x 3119 x 36.4 | ||
| 1996 Dec 4 | 1200:00 | Range 76352 km | |
| 1710 | Pass EL1:4 | ||
| 1996 Dec 9 | 0940? | Pass L1 sphere | |
| Solar orbit | 0.986 x 1.597 AU x 0.10 deg | ||
| 1997 Jan 1 | 1200 | Range to Earth 7.707Mkm | |
| 1997 Jan 10 | 0200 | TCM-1, 90 min burn 31.2 m/s | |
| 1997 Feb 3 | 2300 | TCM-2 1.6m/s | |
| 1997 May 7 | 0100 | TCM-3 0.1m/s | |
| 1997 Jun 25 | 1700 | TCM-4A 1.6s 0.02m/s | |
| 1745 | TCM-4B 2.2s | ||
| 1997 Jul 1 | 1200 | Range 1.485Mkm | |
| 1997 Jul 2 | 0700 | MPF range 1.1 Mkm to Mars | |
| 0845 | Enter Mars sphere 1.082Mkm | ||
| 1997 Jul 2 | 1200 | Range 1.023Mkm | |
| 1997 Jul 3 | 1200 | Range 561674 km | |
| 1997 Jul 4 | 0700 | MPF range 195000 km to Mars | |
| 1200 | MPF range 98391 km to Mars | ||
| 1997 Jul 4 | 1622 | Cruise stage sep, E -30 min | |
| 1997 Jul 4 | 1651:50 | E, Entry at 125 km, mass 570 kg | |
| 1652:54s | E+1:04 Peak heating, 40 km | ||
| 1997 Jul 4 | 1654:42 | E+2:52, para deploy at 10 km, 1600 kph | |
| 1997 Jul 4 | 1655:02 | E+3:12, heatshield sep | |
| 1997 Jul 4 | 1655:18 | E+3:28, tether deploy | |
| 1997 Jul 4 | 1655:21 | E+3:31, tether deployed | |
| 1997 Jul 4 | 1656:45 | E+4:55, airbag deploy. 300m | |
| 1997 Jul 4 | 1656:49 | E+4:59, RAD firing, 98m 225 kph | |
| 1997 Jul 4 | 1656:51 | E+5:01 Tether and backshell sep, 21m | |
| 1997 Jul 4 | 1656:53 | E+5:03 RAD burn ends 2.25s | |
| 1997 Jul 4 | 1656:55 | E+5:05 Landing on Mars, 10 m/s | |
Explorer 43
1971-019A
IMP I (Interplanetary Monitoring Platform I) was launched 1971 Mar 13 at 1615 by Delta M6 from Kennedy. Orbit insertion at 1709 was into a 353 x 204577 km x 28.8 deg orbit. Explorer 43 transmitted until reentry on 1974 Oct 2. Orbital perturbations drove the perigee upward for two years, reaching a maximum of 14000 km, and then downward until reentry.
| IMP 6 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 Mar 13 | 1615:00 | Launch by Delta L1 | CK |
| T+0:31 SRM 4-6 (Castor 2) on | |||
| T+0:43 SRM 1-3 (Castor I) out | |||
| T+1:10 SRM 4-6 off | |||
| T+1:20 SRM 1-6 sep | |||
| 1618:37 | T+3:37 MECO | ||
| St 1 sep | |||
| T+3:47 SES-1 6:07 | |||
| T+4:11 Fairing sep | |||
| 1625:03 | T+10:03 SECO-1 246 km 7.754 km/s | 241 x 270? x 28.7 | |
| 1708:04 | T+53:04 SES-2 77.8m/s | ||
| 1708:09 | T+53:09 SECO-2 240 km 7.845 km/s | ||
| 1708:41 | T+53:41 St 2 sep | 241 x 544 x 28.7 | |
| 1708:55 | T+53:55 TES 41s | ||
| 1709:39 | T+54:39 TECO | ||
| 1711:20 | T+56:20 Stage 3 sep | ||
| 1715? | Yoyo despin | ||
| 1971 Mar 13 | 353 x 204577 x 28.8 | ||
| 242 x 205998 x 28.59 (TR1022) | |||
| 241 x 206049 x 28.6 (MOR Post) | |||
| 243 x 206258 x 28.69 (FirstYrRpt) | |||
| 1971 Mar 14 | Spin axis perpendicular to ecliptic | ||
| 1971 Mar 17 | 1710 | X,Y antennae to 1m | |
| 1971 Mar 21 | 2030 | X,Y ant to 2m | |
| 1971 Mar 25 | 2350 | X,Y ant to 3m; Z to 3m | |
| 1971 Mar 30 | 0815 | X,Y to 19m | |
| 1971 Mar 31 | Chicago Large Telescope failed | ||
| 1971 Apr 5 | 5977.8 1143 x 204316 x 30.0 | ||
| 1971 Apr 7 | 1600 | X,Y to 26m; X ant stuck | |
| 1971 Apr 15 | 1321 | Y antennae to 36.5m | |
| 1971 Apr 19 | 1415 | Y antennae to 45.7m | |
| 1971 Apr 26 | 5957.9 1842 x 203132 x 31.6 | ||
| 1971 May 10 | 5966.3 2390 x 202788 x 31.4 | ||
| 1971 Oct 14 | GSFC plasma experiment activated | ||
| 1971 Nov 17 | End of GSFC plasma experiment ops | ||
| 1972 Mar | 10000 x | ||
| 1973 Mar | 12000 x | ||
| 1974 Mar | 4000 x | ||
| 1974 Oct 2 | Reentered | ||
LAGEOS 2
1992-070B
Lageos 2 was built by Alenia Spazio using the original Lageos drawings. It is used for geodetic research together with Lageos 1. The spacecraft was sponsored by the ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), in collaboration with NASA/GSFC. The project was begun in 1982 by the CNR/PSN (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche/Piano Spaziale Nazionale), the precursor of ASI.
Lageos 2 had a mass of 405 kg and a diameter of 0.6m. It carried 422 silica glass retroreflectors and 4 germanium retroreflectors. Mounted above the satellite at launch was the LAS (Lageos Apogee Stage), a 388 kg Mage 1SC solid motor, and a 100 kg LAS Adapter. This combination was attached to the IRIS (Italian Research Interim Stage) spinning solid stage, with a launch mass of 1534 kg, 264 kg dry. The IRIS/Lageos 2/LAS payload was installed in Aeritalia-built ASE (mass 1003 kg) in Space Shuttle Columbia's payload bay on mission STS-52. The ASE was similar in appearance to the PAM-D ASE.
| Lageos 2 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 Oct 22 | 1709:40 | Launch by Shuttle | |
| 1992 Oct 23 | 1356:40s | Spinup | |
| 1357:24 | Deploy | 296 x 296 x 28.5 | |
| 1441:40 | IRIS burn, dV 2099 m/s dI = 12.5 deg t = 76s | ||
| 1442:56 | IRIS burnout | 296 x 5900 x 41.19 | |
| 1447:29 | D+00:50:05 IRIS sep | ||
| 1601:15 | D+02:03:51 MAGE burn dV = 1361 m/s dI = 11 | ||
| 1602 | MAGE burnout | ||
| 1605:49 | D+02:08:25 MAGE/LAS sep from Lageos | 5614 x 5950 x 52.7 | |
| 1605:53 | LAS yo weight deploy | ||
| 1609 | Beacon activated | ||
Kosmos 1366
1982-044A
The Geizer No. 11L satellite was launched in May 1982 and given the reporting name Kosmos-1366.
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 May 17 | 2350:00 | Launch by Proton-K | KB |
| 2359 | Stage 3 sep | ||
| 1982 May 18 | 0107? | DM burn 1 | |
| 0624? | DM burn 2 | ||
| 0628? | DM sep | ||
| 1982 May 18 | 1436.94 35803 x 35803 x 1.5 GEO 90.6E+0.2W | ||
| 1982 Jun 29 | mv in | ||
| 1982 Jul 7 | 1436.02 35764 x 35806 x 1.3 GEO 79.9E | ||
| 1982 Nov 8 | 1436.17 35750 x 35825 x 1.2 GEO 80.2E | ||
| 1984 Jan 5 | 1436.13 35741 x 35833 x 1.0 GEO 80.3E | ||
| 1986 Feb 6 | 1436.08 35751 x 35820 x 2.6 GEO 80.2E | ||
| 1987 Apr 14 | 1436.17 35770 x 35805 x 3.7 GEO 79.9E | ||
| 1987 Oct 17 | 1436.39 35705 x 35879 x 4.1 GEO 80.3E+0.08W | ||
| 1987 Oct 21 | mv out | 1436.17 35753 x 35822 x 4.1 GEO 80.0E-0.03W | |
| 1987 Oct 23 | mv out | 1436.26 35762 x 35816 x 4.1 GEO 79.8E-0.05W | |
| 1987 Nov 7 | 1436.31 35765 x 35816 x 4.2 GEO 79.1E+0.06W | ||
| 1992 Jun 25 | 1436.19 35776 x 35800 x 8.4 GEO 68.4E+0.03W | ||
Leasat 5
1990-002B
The HS-381 bus was to be launched from the Shuttle, so when other comsat payloads were shifted to expendable vehicles, Syncom IV remained on the STS manifest. The final Syncom IV, F5 or Leasat 5, flew on the STS-32R mission in 1990.
| 1990-02B | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 Jan 10 | 1318:09 | Deploy from OV-102 | |
| 1403:48 | PKM burn (1:01) | 300? x 15000? | |
| 2046? | PKM sep | 276.99 319 x 15075 x 27.2 | |
| 1990 Jan 14 | AKM | ||
| 1990 Jan 14 | 1427.09 34857 x 36362 x 1.4 GEO 176.2E+2.3E | ||
| 1990 Jan 18 | 1436.03 35264 x 36306 x 3.4 GEO 178.1E | ||
| 1990 Feb | On-orbit testing | GEO 178E | |
| 1990 Feb 24 | 1435.87 35262 x 36302 x 3.3 GEO 178.5E | ||
| 1990 Mar 2 | mv out | ||
| 1990 Apr 12 | mv in | 1436.08 35722 x 35850 x 3.2 GEO 72.1E | |
| 1990 May 22 | 1436.10 35729 x 35843 x 3.2 GEO 72.0E | ||
| 1992 Apr 29 | 1436.09 35758 x 35814 x 2.7 GEO 71.5E | ||
| 1994 Mar 20 | 1436.09 35765 x 35807 x 2.8 GEO 71.6E | ||
| 1996 Oct 12 | 1436.09 35761 x 35811 x 3.5 GEO 71.6E | ||
| 1997 Mar 16 | 1436.09 35773 x 35799 x 3.7 GEO 71.5E | ||
Wednesday, December 24, 1997
Tuesday, December 23, 1997
Monday, December 22, 1997
Sunday, December 21, 1997
Vostok 2 (Eagle)
1961-019A
3KA No. 4, Vostok-3A No. 4, with the public name Vostok-2, was launched in Aug 1961 with pilot German Stepanovich Titov. Titov completed the first spaceflight lasting more than one day, and landed near Gagarin's descent site next to the Volga. Titov was the first to eat and sleep in space; the first to take photographs from a spaceship. He was also the first victim of space motion sickness. The cabin temperature dropped by 4 degrees during the flight but otherwise the equipment worked well.
| Vostok-2 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 Aug 6 | 0600 | Launch by 8K72K | KB LC1 |
| 0602 | Blok BVGD sep | ||
| 0602 | Fairing sep | ||
| 0605 | Blok-A sep | ||
| 0605 | Blok-E burn | ||
| 0611 | Blok-E cutoff | ||
| 166 x 232 x 64.93 | |||
| 1961 Aug 7 | 0648? | Retro burn | |
| 0653? | PO sep | ||
| 0711 | Pilot ejected | ||
| 0715 | Cabin landed | ||
| 0718 | Pilot landed near Saratov, 50 51N 47 01.5E | ||
Ranger 5
1962-055A
Ranger 5 (P-38) was launched at 1659:07 on 1962 Oct 18 by Atlas Agena B from Cape Canaveral. The first Agena burn cut off at 1707:20 leaving the combination in a 188 x 188 km orbit. It coasted for 26 min and reignited at 1733:17 over Johannesburg. Agena MECO came at 1734:46 and Ranger V separated at 1737. A course correction was attempted at 0156:08 on Oct 19, but the spacecraft lost electrical power. The last transmission was at 0145 on Oct 19, although the capsule transmitter was detected for 11 days. Ranger 5 missed the Moon by 735 km at 1553:43 on 1962 Oct 21 and entered solar orbit. One year later, Ranger 5 passed close to the Earth's gravitational sphere.
| Ranger 5 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 Oct 18 | 1659:07 | Launch by Atlas Agena B | |
| Azimuth 95.6 eg | |||
| BECO | |||
| Booster sep | |||
| SECO | |||
| Atlas sep | |||
| Agena MES-1 | |||
| 1707:20 | Agena MECO-1 | 188 x 188 x 28.3? | |
| 1733:17 | Agena MES-2 | ||
| 1734:46 | Agena MECO-2 at 36.6E 21.4S | ||
| 1737:23 | Agena sep | 217 x 558269 x 28.3 | |
| 1743:37 | Agena retro | ||
| 1743:57 | Agena retro burnout | ||
| 1962 Oct 19 | 0145 | Loss of power | |
| 1962 Oct 19 | 0156:08 | TCM failed | 207 x 543753 x 28.32 |
| 1962 Oct 21 | 1553:43 | Flyby Moon 735 km | |
| 1962 Oct 21 | 1638:14 | Occultation by Moon until 1744 | |
| 1962 Oct 29 | End of capsule transmission | ||
| 1963 Oct 11 | 0739:52 | Pass 1554250 km from Earth | |
Progress M-17
1993-019A
11F615A55 No. 217 (Progress M-17) was launched in Mar 1993. The initial orbital insertion was inaccurate and a lot of fuel was used up in docking. After undocking in Aug 1993 it was left in orbit until aerodynamic decay brought its altitude low. In Mar 1994 after a year in space the vehicle was deorbited with the remaining fuel.
| Progress M-17 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 Mar 31 | 0334:13 | Launch by Soyuz-U | KB |
| 0343 | Blok-I sep | 88.44 179 x 214 x 51.64 | |
| TCM rev 4 | |||
| 0918 | 90.13 250 x 311 x 51.6 | ||
| 1993 Apr 1 | 90.16 254 x 310 x 51.6 | ||
| 1993 Apr 2 | 0516:18 | Docked with Mir Kvant DP2 | |
| 1993 Apr 4 | 1959 | 92.44 393 x 394 x 51.6 | |
| 1993 Jun 2 | 92.35 388 x 390 x 51.6 | ||
| 1993 Jun 5 | 0323 | Orbit adjust, 217s burn | 92.40 388 x 396 x 51.6 |
| 1993 Aug | 2 old ORLAN-DMA suits to M-17 | ||
| 1993 Aug 11 | 1536:42 | Undocked | 92.36 386 x 393 x 51.6 |
| Sep burn | |||
| 1993 Aug 12 | 0033 | 91.97 340 x 401 x 51.6 | |
| 2159 | 92.00 369 x 375 x 51.6 | ||
| In orbital storage | |||
| 1993 Sep 2 | 91.88 367 x 375 x 51.61 | ||
| 1994 Jan 19 | 90.06 230 x 324 x 51.6 | ||
| 1994 Feb 22 | 88.86 194 x 241 x 51.6 | ||
| 1994 Mar 2 | 2250 | 87.35 133 x 153 x 51.6 | |
| 1994 Mar 3 | 0017 | 87.29 130 x 150 x 51.6 | |
| 0328 | Deorbited | ||
| 0405 | Reentered | ||
Saturday, December 20, 1997
Magsat
1979-094A
Applications Explorer Mission C was the Global Magnetic Survey Mission, or Magsat. The main spacecraft was a cylinder with four solar arrays; a special optical system was used at the end of the magnetometer boom to correlate magnetometer position with the star tracker on the main bus. Magsat was launched on 1979 Oct 30 at 1416 by Scout G-1 from Vandenberg. At 1426 it was inserted into a 93.8 min, 355 x 562 km x 96.8 deg orbit. Magsat transmitted until it reentered on 1980 Jun 11 at 1930 over the Norwegian Sea.
| Magsat | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 Oct 30 | 1416 | Launch by Scout G-1 | V SLC5 |
| T+1:23 St 1 burnout | |||
| T+1:28 St 1 sep | |||
| T+1:35 St 2 burn | |||
| T+2:14 St 2 burnout | |||
| T+2:35 Fairing | |||
| T+2:36 St 2 sep | |||
| T+2:37 St 3 burn | |||
| T+3:10 St 3 burnout | |||
| T+9:49 Spinup | |||
| 1426 | T+10:06 St 3 sep | ||
| 1426 | T+10:52 | Stage 4 burn 33s | |
| 1427 | T+11:25 Stage 4 burnout | ||
| 1428? | Stage 4 sep | 355 x 562 x 96.8 | |
| 1429? | Yoyo weights release from Magsat | ||
| 1979 Nov 1 | Deploy magnetometer boom | ||
| 1979 Nov 1 | Deploy aerotrim boom to 7m | ||
| 1979 Nov 3 | Begin science ops | ||
| 1979 Nov | Retract aerotrim to 4.5m | ||
| 1979 Nov 16 | 93.60 351 x 550 x 96.8 | ||
| 1980 Jan 17 | 92.99 338 x 503 x 96.8 | ||
| 1980 May 10 | 91.06 280 x 372 x 96.8 | ||
| 1980 Jun 11 | 1930 | Reentered | |
Thursday, December 18, 1997
Kosmos 1965
1988-073A
Resurs F-2 17F42 No. 2 was launched on 1988 Aug 23 and named Kosmos-1965. It carried out a 30 day mission. After raising its orbit on the second day of the mission to the standard Resurs-F 257 x 277 km orbit, it maneuvered again on Sep 8, two weeks later, to spend the final half of the mission in the higher 340 x 355 km medium resolution orbit.
| Kosmos-1965 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 Aug 23 | 1115 | Launch by Soyuz-U | PL LC41 |
| 1124 | Blok-I sep | 88.64 183 x 231 x 82.3 | |
| 88.71 183 x 239 x 82.3 | |||
| 1988 Aug 24 | 88.65 181 x 235 x 82.3 | ||
| 1988 Aug 25 | 0930 | 88.87 180 x 258 x 82.3 | |
| 1400? | Orbit raise | ||
| 1900 | 89.85 257 x 277 x 82.3 | ||
| 1988 Sep 2 | 89.78 254 x 273 x 82.3 | ||
| 1988 Sep 7 | 89.86 257 x 278 x 82.3 | ||
| 1988 Sep 8 | 89.80 254 x 275 x 82.3 | ||
| 1988 Sep 12 | 90.56 272 x 347 x 82.3 | ||
| 1988 Sep 15 | 91.47 339 x 355 x 82.3 | ||
| 1988 Sep 21 | 91.45 338 x 353 x 82.3 | ||
| 1988 Sep 22 | |||
| 0450? | Deorbit | ||
| 0500? | PO sep | ||
| 0514? | Entry | -95 x 344 | |
| 0527? | Landed | ||
Tuesday, December 16, 1997
Monday, December 8, 1997
Zond 9A
1971-F06
The third N-1 launch carried a mockup L-3 spaceship, 11F81, with a dummy Blok-E engine, LK lander, Blok-I engine, and LOK orbital craft. In a new flight profile, the rocket pitched after leaving the pad, but a design error meant it was unable to return to the vertical; the Blok G/Blok D/LK/LOK section broke off and impacted 10 km from the pad, while Blok A/B/V impacted 15 km away. The plan was a lunar orbital flight.
| L-3S | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 Jun 26 | 2315:08 | Launch by N-1 | KB LC110 |
| 2315:47 | Guidance failed at Max Q (T+0:39) | ||
| 2315:56 | Blok B destroyed (T+0:48) | ||
| 2315:59 | Blok-A engines off (T+0:51) | ||
| 2316 | N-1 destroyed | ||
Saturday, December 6, 1997
Kosmos 185
1967-104A
The first test flight of the 11K67 (Tsiklon-2A) launch vehicle placed a test satellite, I-2BM or IS-104 (GVM) in orbit on 1967 Oct 27. The GVM was named Kosmos-185. It appears to have included a functional DU propulsion system.
| Kosmos-185 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 Oct 27 | 0221:19 | Launch by 11K67 | KB |
| 0223 | Stage 2 burn | ||
| 0226? | Stage 2 MECO | ||
| 0900 | 98.67 518 x 871 x 64.1 | ||
| 1967 Oct 29 | 1139 | (DU orbit) | 98.59 509 x 873 x 64.1 |
| 1967 Nov 4 | 1222 | (DU orbit) | 98.66 517 x 872 x 64.1 |
| 1968 Nov 15 | 1003 | 94.95 425 x 606 x 64.05 | |
| 1969 Jan 14 | 1507 | 88.79 214 x 214 x 64.0 | |
| 1969 Jan 14 | Reentered | ||
Apollo 17 (America)
1972-096A
- CDR Commander Eugene Cernan, Capt. USN
- CMP Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, Cdr USN
- LMP Lunar Module Pilot Harrison `Jack' Schmitt, Ph.D., NASA
Apollo 17 Crew
Apollo CSM 114 was the CSM for the Apollo 17 mission. The crew named it America. Apollo 17 was launched at 0533 on 1972 Dec 7 from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The Saturn V SA-512 delivered Apollo 17 to a 169 x 178 km Earth orbit at 0544.
The S-IVB reignited for translunar injection at 0845. Half an hour later the CSM separated from the Spacecraft Lunar Adapter, the four SLA panels ejected into space. The crew rotated the CSM and came back in to dock with the exposed Lunar Module. The transposition and docking maneuver was complete at 0929, and at 1018 the assembled Apollo 17 spaceship separated from the S-IVB stage.
The crew made a single midcourse correction on the way to the Moon, and a few hours before arrival jettisoned the panel covering the instruments in the SIM (Scientific Instrument Module). The SIM carried the Lunar Sounder, a synthetic aperture radar system operating at 5, 15 and 150 MHz.
Apollo 17 entered lunar orbit with a firing of the CSM's SPS engine at 1947 on Dec 10. On Dec 11, Cernan and Schmitt transferred to the LM, leaving Ron Evans as the sole crewmember aboard America.
At 1721 on Dec 11 the LM Challenger undocked and began its descent to the Moon. Evans changed America's orbit to 100 x 130 km and concentrated on lunar orbit science operations. Two more orbit changes were made on Dec 14, and early on Dec 15 Challenger, back in space, approached the CSM. Challenger docked with America at 0110:15 and Cernan and Schmitt returned to the CM with their cargo of lunar rock. The LM was undocked at 0451 on Dec 15.
The voyage home began at 2335 on Dec 16 with the transearth injection burn. At 2027:40 on Dec 17 the cabin was depressurized. The CMP exited the hatch and translated along the Service Module to the SIM bay, retrieving the panoramic, mapping, and lunar sounder film and data cassettes in three trips. The LMP stood in the hatch and assisted. The hatch was open for 45 minutes, and the CM was depressurized for 1:05:44, until 2133:24. (Another source gives 1:07:18).
On Dec 19 the Service Module was jettisoned and the Command Module began its reentry, with the nominal start of reentry at 1911:38. America splashed down in the Pacific at 1925, and was recovered by the USS Ticonderoga.
| CSM 114 Mission Log | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0533:00 | Launch | |
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0535:19 | S-IC center engine cutoff | |
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0535:41 | Outboard engine cutoff | |
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0535:43 | S-IC stage separation, S-II ignition | |
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0535:45 | Interstage separation | |
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0536:19 | LES separation | |
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0540:41 | S-II center engine cutoff | |
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0542:19 | S-II outboard engine cutoff | |
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0542:19 | S-II stage separation | |
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0542:21 | S-IVB-512 ignition | |
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0544:42 | S-IVB-512 main engine cutoff | |
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0544:52 | Orbit insertion | 167 x 172 |
| 0556 | Optics cover off | ||
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0845:37 | S-IVB-512 reignites for a 5m51s TLI burn 3.157km/s | |
| 139842 kg at TIG, 180 km alt | |||
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0851:38 | Translunar injection (TLI) at 280 km 10.846km/s | |
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0915:29 | CSM separates from S-IVB/SLA | |
| 1972 Dec 7 | 0929:45 | CSM 114 docks with LM 12 (attached to S-IVB) | |
| 0930 | Hard dock, partial latch problem | ||
| 1972 Dec 7 | 1018:00 | CSM 114/LM 12 separate from S-IVB-512 | |
| Mass 30317 kg; CSM on impact trajectory prior to MCC2 | |||
| LM mass 16456 kg | |||
| 2233 | CSM pass EL4:1 | ||
| 2340 | S-IVB pass EL4:1 | ||
| 1972 Dec 8 | 1703:00 | MCC-2 midcourse correction 2s 3m/s, periline 96 km | |
| 1972 Dec 10 | 0410:45 | Equigravisphere | |
| 1972 Dec 10 | 1505:40 | SIMbay panel jettison 382000 km range | |
| 1972 Dec 10 | 1947:23 | LOI-1 lunar orbit insertion burn (SPS) | |
| 910 m/s 6:38 | |||
| 1972 Dec 10 | 1953:56 | Lunar orbit insertion | 97 x 315 km |
| 1972 Dec 11 | 0004:37 | LOI-2/DOI burn 60m/s 22s | 26 x 109 km |
| 1430 | 23 x 111 | ||
| 1972 Dec 11 | 1440? | CDR and LMP transfer to LM 12. | |
| 1600? | HC to LM | ||
| 1972 Dec 11 | 1720:56 | LM 12 undocking | |
| 1972 Dec 11 | 1721 | RCS separation burn | |
| 1972 Dec 11 | 1850:29 | Circularization burn, 100 x 130 km orbit | |
| 1972 Dec 14 | 1627:05 | Trim burn to 115 x 124 km | |
| 1972 Dec 14 | 1726:54 | LOPC-1 lunar orbit plane change burn, to 116 x 116 km | |
| 1972 Dec 15 | 0110:15 | LM 12 docked with CSM 114 | |
| 1972 Dec 15 | CDR and LMP return to CSM 114 | ||
| 1972 Dec 15 | 0451:31 | LM 12 undocked | |
| CSM mass 16576 kg | |||
| 1972 Dec 15 | 0456:31 | Separation burn, to 113 x 118 km | |
| 1972 Dec 16 | 2335:09 | SPS Transearth Injection (TEI) burn | |
| 1972 Dec 16 | 2337:33 | CSM 114 leaves lunar orbit | |
| 1972 Dec 17 | 1332? | Leave lunar sphere | |
| 1972 Dec 17 | 2027:40 | EVA depress | |
| 2031 | HO | ||
| 2032? | Jett bag? | ||
| 2037 | CMP egress | ||
| 2119 | CMP ingress | ||
| 2120 | HC | ||
| 2123 | Begin repress | ||
| 2123 | Rep. 0.7psi | ||
| 2134 | Rep. 3.5psi | ||
| 1972 Dec 19 | 1611:01 | MCC-7 midcourse correction | |
| 1972 Dec 19 | 1856:49 | SM-114 separation | |
| 1972 Dec 19 | 1911:38 | Entry interface | |
| 1972 Dec 19 | 1924:59 | Splashdown in Pacific Ocean | |
| 1972 Dec 19 | 2128 | Recovered by USS Ticonderoga | |