TeamNathanFTW’s New and Improved Blog : July 1999

Wednesday, July 28, 1999

STS-37 (Atlantis)

1991-027A

The highlight of STS-37 was deployment of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.

EVA-1 was a contigency EVA to release the GRO high gain antenna. EVA-2 was the planned EVA, the EVA Flight Development Experiment to test out CETA, the MFR, and CLIP. The EVA began at 1443. The hatch was closed at 2041, and the airlock was repressurized at 2054. Total depress time was 10h23m; official time was 9h17m (=3:30+5:47)

The DTO OMS burn on Apr 9 demonstrated the use of star trackers in rendezvous maneuvers, and other rendezvous procedures.

Date	Time	Event	Orbit

STS-37



1991 Mar 8		Tow to VAB
1991 Mar 15		Rollout	LC39B
1991 Apr 5	1422:45	Launch from LC39B
	1424:50	SRB sep 47.7 km	-6256 x 63?
	1431:18	MECO	59 x 437 x 28.5
	1431:36	ET sep	89.68 71 x 445 x 28.5 (OMS dV)
	1504:28	OMS-2 (3:55) 112 m/s
	1508:23	OMS-2 CO
	1530?		93.63 446 x 458 x 28.5
	1950	RMS checkout
1991 Apr 6	1225	Cabin depress to 10.3 psi
1991 Apr 7			93.63 445 x 458 x 28.5
	1100	Go for grapple
	1105?	RMS grapple GRO
	1114	confirmation of grapple
	1157?	GRO unberth
	1206	RMS raising GRO out of bay
	1222	RMS/GRO in release position
	1249	Right solar array deploy complete
	1322	Solar arrays deploy complete
	1403	Command to deploy HGA
	1409	HGA failed to deploy
	1557	Go for EVA preparation
	1822	Begin airlock depress
	1827	5 psi leak check
	1831	Resume depress
	1839?	at vacuum
	1839	EVA-1 (04:38) depress
	1842	Hatch open
	1845	Egress
	1855	Apt frees boom
	1920	Completing EVA work reconfiguring GRO
	1940?	EFDE get-aheads
	1950?	PDAP 1 from airlock
	2000	PDAP 1 active on CETA outrigger handrail
	2003	EVA Translation experiment (ETE)
	2010	Evaluate ETE outrigger handrail
	2025?	Ross working at CLIP, with PDAP
	2110?	Ross on CLIP holding Apt, mass handling test
	2120	Connect ETE rope tether across PLB, translation tests
	2125	Rope from CLIP to CETA
	2140	Complete rope tether work
	2150	PLB cleanup
	2200?	Back to airlock
	2236:47	GRO deployed
	2236:48	RCS sep
	2244	Go to repress airlock
	2247	RCS sep
	2300	Hatch closed and locked
	2302	EVA-1 repress airlock (transcript)
	2304	RCS sep
	2317	EVA-1 repress (docs)
1991 Apr 8	0012		93.66 445 x 461 x 28.5
	1259	Depressurizing airlock?
	1417?	Prep for egress?
	1442	Started depress
	1443	EVA-2 EFDE
	1444	Leak check
	1447	Resuming depress
	1455	At vac?
	1456?	EVA-2 depress?
	1456?	Hatch open
	1458	Egress
	1512	PDAP on CETA
	1520	On the CETA cart
	1534	Deploying CETA track
	1542	CETA track fully deplpyed
	1545	Manual cart tests
	1624	Working with manual cart
	1630	Mech cart tests
	1649	Evaluating mechanical cart
	1706	Stow mech cart
	1720	Begin electrical cart
	1734	Stow elec cart?
	1740?	Working on tether shuttle
	1740	PDAP 2 turned off
	1759	PDAP 2 in airlock
	1810	Completed tether shuttle work
	1820	Stow track
	1830	ETE RMS tests
	1850	Testing RMS/MFR/Ross
	1920	EVA stiffness test, with RMS and CLIP
	2000	Stow MFR
	2015	End work with CLIP
	2016	MFR stowed, RMS off?
	2025	Tool stowage
	2040?	Ingress
	2041	Hatch closed
	2044	Burn
	2054	Repress (06:11)	93.61 442 x 459 x 28.5
1991 Apr 9	1303		93.61 443 x 458 x 28.5
	1519:13	OMS-3 (10s)
	1545	RV/stationkeep 15 km from GRO
	1736	RCS burn
	1910	Sep burn
	1927		93.66 445 x 461 x 28.5
1991 Apr 10	1100	PLBD closed
	1400	Landing waveoff
	1417	Open PLBD
1991 Apr 11	0200		93.67 445 x 462 x 28.5
	1110?	PLBD closed
	1245:50	OMS deorbit 3:41 134m/s	88.98 -13 x 461 x 28.5
	1324:23	Entry interface
	1355:29	Landed RW33 EAFB
	1355:35	NGTD
	1356:25	Wheels stop
1991 Apr 16	1045	SCA takeoff	EAFB
	1540	SCA landing	Kelly AFB TX
	1815	SCA takeoff
	2030	SCA landing	Columbus AFB MS
1991 Apr 17	1415	SCA takeoff
	1850	SCA landing	MacDill AFB, FL
1991 Apr 18	1135	SCA takeoff
	1210	SCA landing	KSC SLF
	1425	Tow to OPF	OPF/2

Satcom 1

1975-117A

Satcom 1 was launched for the RCA Corp.'s Globcom subsidiary RCA Global Communications Inc. on a Delta 3914, a new variant of the Delta developed especially for the payload. Control was from Vernon Valley, NJ; backup SOCC at Moorpark, California. In Mar 1976 Globcom became RCA American Communications Inc., or Americom. The satellite began the RCA Satcom Phase II service replacing the Phase I service provided by Anik A-2.

Date	Time	Event	Orbit

Satcom 1



1975 Dec 13	0156:14	Launch by Delta 3914	CC LC17
		T+0:58 SRM 1-5 out
		T+1:04 SRM 1-3 sep
		T+1:04 SRM 6-9 on
		T+1:05 SRM 4-5 sep
		T+2:02 SRM 6-9 out
		T+2:07 SRM 6-9 sep
	0159:56	MECO T+3:42
	0200:02	T+3:48 Thor sep
	0200:15	T+4:01 Delta SES-1 4:16
		T+4:20 Fairing
	0204:31	T+8:17 Delta SECO-1	185 x 189 x 28.4
	0216:49	T+20:35 Delta SES-2 41s
	0217:30	T+21:16 Delta SECO-2	191 x 1879 x 28.4
	0218:22	T+22:08 Delta sep
	0219:03	T+22:49 Stage 3 burn 43s
	0219:46	T+23:33 TECO
	0220:59	T+24:46 Stage 3 sep	184 x 35994 x 27.25
			185 x 35980 x 27.25 (MOR)
	0734	T+5h38 First apogee
1975 Dec 15	2241	AKM	35626 x 36085 x 0.34 GEO 140W dr 1.3/d
1975 Dec			GEO 119W
1976 Jun 11		Move out
1976 Aug		Moved in	GEO 135W
1977 Jan 25			1436.17 35715 x 35861 x 0.0 GEO 136.2W+0.03W
1978 May 24			1436.13 35779 x 35795 x 0.0 GEO 135.1W+0.01W
1980 Nov 30			1435.93 35775 x 35791 x 0.0 GEO 135.0W+0.0E
1981 Apr 28			1436.02 35780 x 35789 x 0.1 GEO 134.9W
1982 Oct			GEO 135W
1983 Feb 5			1436.11 35781 x 35792 x 0.2 GEO 135.0W
1983 Jun 23			1436.09 35768 x 35804 x 0.1 GEO 135.1W
1983 Jun		Move to 119W
1983 Jun 29			1436.14 35777 x 35797 x 0.0 GEO 119.0W
1983 Aug			GEO 117W
1983 Sep 27			1436.09 35778 x 35794 x 0.0 GEO 117.5W
1983 Nov 20			1436.08 35773 x 35798 x 0.1 GEO 117.5W
1983 Dec 10			1436.08 35785 x 35787 x 0.1 GEO 119.0W
1984 Feb 1			1436.09 35777 x 35794 x 0.0 GEO 139.0W
1984 May 25			1436.08 35777 x 35795 x 0.1 GEO 139.0W
1984 Jun 4			1452.30 35800 x 35836 x 0.1
1984 Jun 8		Decommissioned
1984 Jun 13			1440.59 35856 x 35892 x 0.4
1984 Jul 13			1445.76 35874 x 36076 x 0.5
1986 Oct 27			1445.91 35777 x 36068 x 2.6
1990 Nov 11			1445.91 35893 x 36063 x 6.4
1995 Jul 7			1445.88 35846 x 36108 x 10.0
1999 Apr 25			1445.78 35881 x 36070 x 11.9

Tuesday, July 27, 1999

Spaceflight: January 1999

https://welib.org/md5/b9973b6507c01b765ca738de6a0f43b9

Monday, July 26, 1999

STS-54 (Endeavour)

1993-003A

The third mission of OV-105 included a satellite deployment and a spacewalk. On Jan 17, Harbaugh and Runco suited up and entered the payload bay for the first of a series of spacewalks designed purely for training purposes. The experiment would compare exercises carried out in the Huntsville water tank with the same activities on orbit, so that mission planners would have a better idea of how much to trust the ground simulations. The astronauts emerged at 1050 and entered the lock at 1509, closing the hatch at 1511. Repressurization began at 1518 after 4h 27m 50s.

Date	Time	Event	Orbit

STS-54



1992 Nov 21		Tow to VAB
1992 Nov 22		ET mate	VAB
1992 Dec 6		Rollout	LC39B
1993 Jan 13	1359:30	Launch from LC39B
	1401:36	SRB sep
	1408:00	MECO	88.18 66 x 302 x 28.5
	1408:19	ET Sep
	1439:23	OMS-2 (2:24) 68m/s	90.51 296 x 302 x 28.46
	1441:47	OMS-2 CO
	1541	PLBD open
	2012:26	TDRS deploy
	2027:26	OMS-3L sep 34s 10m/s	90.89 303 x 333 x 28.47
	2028:00	OMS-3 CO
1993 Jan 14	1608:42	OMS-4R orbit lower 27s 7m/s	90.62 301 x 308 x 28.47
	1609:09	OMS-4 CO
1993 Jan 16	0659		90.61 298 x 310 x 28.47
1993 Jan 17	1050	EVA-1 (DTO-1210)	90.61 296 x 312 x 28.47
	1045:22	Depress (STSMR)
	1049:52	Battery power
	1050?	Egress
	1517:42	Repress (STSMR)
	1518	EVA-1 repress
1993 Jan 18	1030		90.59 295 x 311 x 28.47
1993 Jan 19	0600		90.58 293 x 312 x 28.47
	1004	PLBD close
	1238:10	OMS deorbit (2:33) 89m/s	13 x 296 x 28
	1240:43	OMS DO CO
	1306:59	Entry interface
	1337:47	MGTD RW33 KSC
	1338:01	Drag chute deploy
	1338:03	NGTD
	1338:23	Drag chute release
	1338:37	Wheels stop
	1845	Tow to OPF

Commander John H. Casper, Col USAF
Pilot Donald R. McMonagle, Col USAF
Mission Specialist 1 Gregory J Harbaugh, NASA
Mission Specialist 2 Mario Runco, Jr, Lt Cdr USN
Mission Specialist 3 Susan J. Helms, Capt USAF

The Metropolitan Opera Guide to Opera on Video

https://welib.org/md5/31058f4a54c06e9b68ef19dfbcf4cbee

Sunday, July 25, 1999

Intelsat 401

1975-042A

The Intelsat 4 F-1 satellite was the first to be built but the last to be launched. It was launched in May 1975 and was first used as the Indian Ocean primary satellite. The satellite was over the Indian Ocean from 1975 to 1978, the Atlantic from 1978 to 1981, the Pacific during 1982, and back over the Atlantic from 1983 onwards.

Date	Time	Event	Orbit

Intelsat IV F-1



1975 May 22	2204:00	Launch by Atlas Centaur	CC LC36
		T+2:18 BECO
		T+2:22 Booster sep
		T+3:04 Insulation panel sep
		T+4:07 SECO
		T+4:09 Atlas sep
		T+4:18 Centaur D-1A-0532-06 MES-1
	2208	T+4:30 Fairing sep
	2214	T+10:21 Centaur MECO-1	190? x 1800? x 28
	2229	T+25:02 Centaur MES-2
	2230	T+26:18 Centaur MECO-2
	2232	T+28:34 Centaur sep	591 x 36625 x 26.0
1975 May 23	0400?	Apo 1 over 90E
	1500?	Apo 2 over 70W
1975 May 24	0200?	Apo 3 over 120E
	1200?	Apo 4 over 40W
	2300?	Apo 5 over 155E
1975 May 24	2245	AKM 33s	1446.3 36182 x 37870 x 0.4 GEO 165E dr
1975 Jul 13		Operational as IOR Primary	GEO 63E
1977 Feb 24			1436.11 35785 x 35788 x 0.1 GEO 62.9E
1978 Sep 30			GEO 63E
1978 Oct 26			1436.12 35778 x 35795 x 0.05 GEO 62.9E
1978 Nov 19		Replaced by IVA F-6
1978 Dec 9		Move to AOR
1978 Dec 21			1436.09 35785 x 35788 x 0.05 GEO 17.0W
1979 Feb 3			1436.16 35783 x 35788 x 0.0 GEO 17.0W
1979 Mar 13			1436.20 35782 x 35794 x 0.0 GEO 18.0W
1979 Apr 19			1436.05 35778 x 35792 x 0.0 GEO 18.5W
1979 Apr		AOR Major Path 2	GEO 18.5W
1980 Dec 10			1436.25 35786 x 35792 x 0.2 GEO 18.0W
1980 Dec		Adjust to 16.5W
1981 Jan 2			1436.15 35778 x 35796 x 0.1 GEO 16.5W
1981 Jul 7			1436.17 35786 x 35789 x 0.0 GEO 16.7W
1981 Aug 16			1436.20 35782 x 35795 x 0.0 GEO 17.4W
1981 Oct 6			1436.22 35785 x 35795 x 0.0 GEO 18.2W
1981 Nov 15			1436.12 35776 x 35797 x 0.2 GEO 18.5W
1981 Dec		AOR Major Path 2	GEO 18.5W
1981 Dec 15		mv out of GEO	1440.46 35780 x 35963 x 0.2
1982 Feb 16			1444.19 35781 x 36110 x 0.0
1982 Mar		mv in as POR Primary
1982 Mar 27			1436.06 35774 x 35797 x 0.0 GEO 174.0E
1982 Jul		POR Primary
1982 Dec 2			1436.07 35779 x 35792 x 0.1 GEO 174.1E
1982 Dec 6		mv out of GEO	GEO 174E
1982 Dec 13			1427.92 35514 x 35738 x 0.1 GEO 139.8W+2.0E/d
1983 Jan 25			1429.89 35591 x 35738 x 0.2 GEO 52.7W+1.5E/d
1983 Jan 26		on station	GEO 53W
1983 Feb 7			1436.19 35780 x 35796 x 0.1 GEO 52.9W
1983 May		Domestic lease satellite
1983 Sep			GEO 53W
1984 Apr 28			1436.15 35781 x 35793 x 0.2 GEO 53.0W
1984 Jun 2		mv out	1435.80 35780 x 35781 x 0.2 GEO 52.1W+0.07E
1984 Aug 4		mv in	1436.10 35781 x 35792 x 0.4 GEO 50.0W
1985 Apr			GEO 50W
1986 Nov 24			1436.30 35779 x 35802 x 2.6 GEO 50.2W
1987 Jul 6			1436.23 35781 x 35797 x 3.1 GEO 50.0W
1987 Jul 14		drifting	1436.28 35781 x 35798 x 3.1 GEO 50.3W+0.05W
1987 Aug 19			1436.48 35780 x 35808 x 3.2 GEO 52.7+0.1W
1987 Oct 26			1436.88 35785 x 35818 x 3.4 GEO 63.1W+0.2W
1987 Oct 27		Orbit raise
1987 Oct 28			1443.51 35888 x 35974 x 3.4
1987 Nov 2			1450.75 36035 x 36109 x 3.4
1993 Jan 16			1450.70 36013 x 36130 x 8.1
1999 Apr 19			1450.67 36026 x 36116 x 11.8

Palapa A1

1976-066A

The HS333D satellite Palapa 1 was launched for Indonesia's Perumtel communications agency in Jul 1976. Palapa is Indonesian for `unity'. The satellite reportedly operated until 1985,and NORAD did not regularly track the satellite.

Date	Time	Event	Orbit

Palapa 1



1976 Jul 8	2331	Launch by Delta 2914	CC LC17
		T+0:38 SRM 1-6 out
		T+0:39 SRM 7-9 on
		T+1:18 SRM 7-9 out
		T+1:27 SRM 1-9 sep
		T+3:48 MECO
		T+3:56 St 1 sep
		T+4:01 Stage 2 SES-1
		T+4:35 Fairing
	2340	T+8:55 Stage 2 SECO-1 7.839 km/s 188km
	2353	T+22:38 Stage 2 sep, 231 km
	2354	T+23:20 Stage 3 TES
	2355	T+24:03 Stage 3 TECO
	2356	T+25:15 Star 37 sep	231 x 36504 x 24.6
1976 Jul 9	0048	T+1:17:24 SES-2, R&D; burn
	0048	T+1:17:26 SECO-2
1976 Jul 9	0600?	Apo 1 84E
	1700?	Apo 2 80W
1976 Jul 10	0300?	Apo 3 126E
	1400?	Apo 4 35W
1976 Jul 11	0030?	Apo 5 160E
	1100?	Apo 6 5E
	2130?	Apo 7 155W
1976 Jul 11	2030	AKM
1976 Jul			GEO 83E
1978 Feb 23			1436.04 35779 x 35791 x 0.0 GEO 83.0E
1979 Jul			GEO 84.1E+0.05E/d
1984 Jun 28			1436.41 35728 x 35856 x 0.2 GEO 84.0E
1984 Dec 26		(misid?)	1436.05 35759 x 35811 x 0.0 GEO 62.9E
1985 Nov		(misid?)	GEO 87E? 1435.9?
1985		end of ops?
1986 May 15			1436.25 35764 x 35814 x 0.8 GEO 84.1E
1986		Orbit raised
1988 Feb 1			1440.57 35862 x 35885 x 2.4 GEO 72.4E+1.1W
1988 Feb 26			1439.65 35841 x 35870 x 2.5
1988 Apr 12		(misid?)	1466.77 36322 x 36447 x 3.0
1988 Aug 25		(misid)	1466.83 36315 x 36456 x 3.3
1989 Mar 9			1439.47 35837 x 35854 x 4.6
1989 Apr 11			1438.87 35826 x 35854 x 4.6
1990 Apr 27			1439.35 35835 x 35864 x 4.5

Friday, July 23, 1999

A Picture-Perfect Prom?

https://welib.org/md5/43492d9a0250d50113e94bbd54337fac

Aviation Week: December 14,1998

https://welib.org/md5/083f4c61669dc3a288ae78424bf53c0b

GOES-6

1983-041A

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 06 (GOES F) was launched by Delta 3914 from Cape Canaveral LC17A at 2226 on 1983 Apr 28. By May 13 it was on station at the GOES W position. After the failure of GOES 5's imager in Jul 1984, GOES 6 was moved to a compromise position at 98W, from where it could cover both coasts of the United States. It arrived there on 1984 Aug 21. In Nov 1986 it was moved to 109.3W in anticipation of the GOES 7 launch, arriving on station on Dec 28.

Date	Time	Event	Orbit

GOES 6



1983 Apr 28	2226	Launch by Delta 3914
		T+0:57 SRM 1-5 off
		SRM 6-9 on
		T+1:04 SRM 1-5 sep
		SRM 6-9 off
		T+2:01 SRM 6-9 sep
		T+3:44 MECO
		T+3:52 Stage 1 sep
	2230	T+3:58 SES-1 4:20
		T+4:? Fairing
	2234	T+8:18 SECO-1	190? x 400? x 28?
	2246	T+20:14 SES-2 51s
	2247	T+21:05 SECO-2	260? x ? x 26?
	2248	T+22:07 Spinup
	2248	T+22:09 St 2 sep
	2248	T+22:40 TES 44s
	2249	T+23:33 TECO
	2250	T+24:42 St 3 sep	883.42 258 x 47981 x 25.3
		SES-3 depletion	118.39 404 x 2827 x 25.3
1983 Apr 30	1130?	Star 27 burn 35s, 1st apo
	1130?	Star 27 burnout
	1145?	Star 27 eject
1983 Apr 30			1707.33 33377 x 48482 x 0.4
1983 May 3			1708.31 33531 x 48386 x 0.5
1983 May 6			1568.49 33528 x 43151 x 0.5
1983 May 9			1566.48 35463 x 41140 x 0.5
1983 May 9			1480.99 35435 x 37885 x 0.5
1983 May 10			1429.67 35435 x 35885 x 0.5 GEO 138.2W+1.6E
1983 May 14			1436.00 35716 x 35852 x 0.4 GEO 134.8W
1984 Jan 30			1436.12 35781 x 35792 x 0.1 GEO 136.1W
1984 Aug 10		mv out	1436.35 35781 x 35802 x 0.1 GEO 135.2W
1984 Aug 12			1431.05 35580 x 35794 x 0.1
1984 Sep 11		mv in 97W	1436.06 35775 x 35796 x 0.0 GEO 97.8W
1984 Oct 13			1436.11 35779 x 35794 x 0.0 GEO 97.0W
1984 Oct 24		mv out
1984 Dec 12		mv in 108W	1436.28 35731 x 35848 x 0.2 GEO 108.1W
1985 Jan 18			1436.11 35710 x 35863 x 0.0 GEO 108.5W
1985 May 26		mv out	1436.08 35745 x 35827 x 0.05 GEO 107.8W
1985 Jul 11		mv in 97W	1436.00 35780 x 35789 x 0.1 GEO 98.9W
1985 Aug 28			1435.96 35780 x 35787 x 0.1 GEO 97.4W
1985 Oct 22		mv out	1436.11 35784 x 35789 x 0.1 GEO 97.7W
1985 Oct 24			1437.58 35783 x 35847 x 0.1
1986 Jan 16		mv in 108W	1436.11 35779 x 35794 x 0.0 GEO 108.2W
1986 Jun 12			1436.20 35787 x 35790 x 0.1 GEO 108.3W
1986 Jun 20		mv out	1434.34 35712 x 35791 x 0.1 GEO 107.6W+0.4E
1986 Jul 8		mv in 97W	1436.06 35781 x 35790 x 0.0 GEO 98.6W
1986 Aug 22			1436.00 35774 x 35794 x 0.1 GEO 98.0W
1996 Nov 18			1436.14 35779 x 35796 x 0.1 GEO 97.7W
1996 Nov 20		mv out	1437.92 35781 x 35863 x 0.1 GEO 97.7W+0.4W
1986 Dec 15		mv in 108W	1436.15 35781 x 35793 x 0.0 GEO 107.4W
1987 Mar 12			1436.17 35783 x 35792 x 0.1 GEO 108.2W
1987 Apr 5		mv out	1439.84 35846 x 35873 x 0.1 GEO 112.9W+1.0W
1987 Jun 11		mv in 135W	1436.10 35763 x 35810 x 0.1 GEO 136.3+0.01W
1987 Jun 22			1436.04 35765 x 35805 x 0.0 GEO 136.2W
1988 Feb 20			1436.10 35767 x 35805 x 0.1 GEO 135.7W
1989 Jan 21		VAS failed
1989 Jul 31			1436.08 35748 x 35823 x 1.5 GEO 134.1W
1990 May 20			1435.97 35773 x 35795 x 2.1 GEO 136.1W
1992 Mar 3			1436.21 35775 x 35802 x 3.8 GEO 136.1W
1992 May 19		mv out	1435.91 35771 x 35794 x 3.9 GEO 134.7W+0.04E
1992 May 24		Decommissioned
1992 Nov 8		drifting	1435.34 35761 x 35781 x 4.3 GEO 114.5W+0.2E
1994 Mar 19			1436.85 35785 x 35817 x 5.4 GEO 96.5W+0.2W

Kosmos 961

1977-104A

Kosmos-961 carried out a record low altitude intercept of Kosmos 959. The deorbit of Kosmos-961 was observed from Japan.

Date	Time	Event	Orbit

Kosmos-961



1977 Oct 26	0514	Launch by 11K69	KB
	0516	Stage 2 burn
	0519	Stage 2 MECO	88.7 125x302x66 (NLJ)
	0542?	Possible orbit change	101.8 269x1421x66.4 (RAE)
	0555?	Orbit change
	0640?	Guess perigee burn
	0725?	Orbit change
	0820?	Flyby K959
	0837?	Reentered over NE Japan coast

The Hollywood rules : what you must know to make it in the film industry

https://welib.org/md5/4e01fb3421a3a3d9879c62879b35e5ce

Kosmos 759

1975-084A

Kosmos-759 made an unusual midnight recovery after its 11 day mission. This was a test flight of a new visual beacon to aid in future Zenit recoveries.

Date	Time	Event	Orbit

Kosmos-759



1975 Sep 12	0530	Launch by Soyuz	Plesetsk
	0534	Blok-I burn
	0538	Blok-I sep
1975 Sep 12			89.55 229 x 275 x 62.8
1975 Sep 18			89.47 227 x 269 x 62.8
1975 Sep 23
	2006?	Deorbit
	2015?	PO sep
	2026?	Entry
	2042?	Landed

Thursday, July 22, 1999

Galaxy 10

1998-F03

Galaxy 10 was a Hughes HS-601HP satellite built by Hughes/El Segundo for Panamsat. The satellite carried 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders to provide US/Caribbean coverage, and was to have replaced the aging SBS-5 satellite at 123 deg West. Launch mass of Galaxy 10 was 3876 kg; BOL mass 2115 kg. I haven't been able to find its dry mass. Replenishing the Galaxy/PAS constellation was a high priority for Panamsat following the loss of Galaxy 4 and problems with Galaxy 7.

Dimensions are 26m span, 5.9m x 2.7m x 3.6m stowed.

Galaxy III was on the first Delta III 8930 launch vehicle, lost 80 seconds into flight on 1998 Aug 26. Boeing Expendable Launch Systems (formerly McDonnell Douglas) builds the Delta III at Huntingdon Beach, California with final assembly in Pueblo, Colorado. The standard Delta II model is widely regarded as one of the world's most reliable launch vehicles, and I expect that the Delta team will recover from this failure and eventually bring the new rocket up to the same standard. However, the loss of the initial vehicle is certainly a major blow for Boeing and for the US space launch industry; although it represents less money than the recent Titan failure, it will probably have a wider impact. The Delta III consists of:

- Nine Alliant GEM-46 solid strapon motors, a scaled up version of the GEM-40 motors used on the Delta II 7925. The graphite-epoxy case motors use HTPB solid propellant. The motors are built in Alliant's Bacchus, Utah factory; Alliant was formerly known as Hercules Powder and built the upper stage for the first Delta back in 1960.

- The Delta III First Stage, similar to the Delta II first stage, but with the fuel tank at the top reshaped to fit with the wider upper stage. It uses the same LOX/kerosene RS-27A main engine as the Delta II.

- The Delta III Second Stage. This is an entirely new stage, and the first entirely new high energy upper stage developed in the US since the 1960s. It uses a Pratt and Whitney LOX/liquid hydrogen RL10B-2 engine with a long extensible nozzle built by SEP of France. The RL10B-2, with a world record specific impulse of over 462 seconds, is a new version of the venerable RL10 engine used in the Lockheed Martin Astronautics Centaur, the other US high energy upper stage. The liquid hydrogen tank for the Delta III second stage is build by Mitsubishi of Japan, which also builds the liquid hydrogen stage of the Japanese H-II rocket. The Delta III second stage is 4.0m in diameter, much larger than the Delta II stage which still uses tankage derived in part from the 1960-vintage Ablestar. However, the appearance of the new stage, with the narrower LOX tank held inside an interstage and the large nozzle assembly, is still reminiscent of the traditional Delta stage.

- The 4.0 meter fairing, much larger than the old 10-foot Delta II fairing. Boeing also builds the large Titan IV fairings, so has lots of experience in this field.

The launch profile involves igniting the RS-27A main engine and six of the GEM-46 solids at launch. At 80 seconds into flight the six solids separate and the remaining three GEM-46 solids ignite. At 40-50 seconds, however, an unexpected 4 Hz roll mode instability became significant and the solid motor TVC fuel ran out correcting the problem, causing the vehicle to go out of control.

The planned launch profile included a first burn of the second stage engine from T+4min to T+13 min, leaving Delta in a 157 x 1176 km parking orbit. After a 9 minute coase, the stage would burn again to enter a 185 x 35719 km x 27.5 deg geostationary transfer orbit, separating from the Galaxy 10 satellite payload.

Date	Time	Event	Orbit

Galaxy 10



1998 Aug 27	0117:00	Launch by Delta 3	CC LC17B
	0117:55	T+0:55 Guidance problem
	0118:12	T+1:12 Yaw 30 degrees, 18 km alt
	0118:15	T+1:15 auto destruct

Kosmos 559

1973-030A

Kosmos-559 was launched in May 1973 from Plesetsk, aboard the first Soyuz-U (11A511U) launch vehicle which would become the standard model for a quarter century. This Zenit-4MK satellite remained in orbit for 5 days and possibly represents a test mission.

Date	Time	Event	Orbit

Kosmos-559



1973 May 18	1100:02	Launch by 11A511U	PL
	1104	Blok-I burn
	1108	Blok-I sep
	1430		89.79 204 x 325 x 65.41
1973 May 22		Engine sep	89.78 211 x 317 x 65.39
1973 May 23	0554??	Retrofire
	0604?	PO sep
	0610?	Entry
	0624?	Landed

TeamNathanFTW’s New and Improved Blog