Friday, May 28, 1999
Aussat 1
1985-076B
The Aussat satellites were owned by the company Aussat Pty. of Australia; three HS376 satellites were built for the project to provide Australian domestic satellite communications. Aussat carried 15 Ku-band transponders, whose direct broadcast capacity was used by the Australian Broadcasting Co. (ABC).
The Aussat K1 apogee burn left it in a 1284 min orbit; a burn the next day raised the orbit to 1318 min and then on Sep 1 to 1421 min, in the geostationary ring. Archival elements for early 1993 are double valued, one subset remaining at 160E and another subset moving to 164E and staying there for several months. The orbit was raised in mid 1993.
| Aussat K1 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 Aug 27 | 1733 | PAM-D launch from Discovery, LEO | |
| 1818? | PAM-D burn | ||
| 1819? | PAM-D burnout | ||
| 1821? | PAM-D sep | ||
| 1985 Aug 28 | 651.56 754 x 36281 x 24.4 | ||
| 1985 Aug 30 | 0552:18 | Star 30BP burn | |
| 1985 Aug 30 | 1284.59 29254 x 36278 x 0.9 | ||
| 1985 Aug 31 | 0320? | mv | |
| 1985 Aug 31 | 1318.70 30644 x 36268 x 0.8 GEO 146.3E+32.1E | ||
| 1985 Sep 1 | 0100? | mv | |
| 1985 Sep 1 | 1421.03 35023 x 35958 x 0.2 GEO 162.1E+3.8E | ||
| 1985 Sep 2 | mv in | ||
| 1985 Sep 3 | 1436.02 35606 x 35964 x 0.1 GEO 162.4E | ||
| 1985 Oct 1 | 1436.18 35781 x 35795 x 0.0 GEO 160.0E | ||
| 1985 Oct 1 | Into service | ||
| 1986 Sep | GEO 160E | ||
| 1987 May 16 | 1436.10 35775 x 35797 x 0.0 GEO 160.0E | ||
| 1990 May 25 | 1436.11 35778 x 35795 x 0.0 GEO 160.0E | ||
| 1992 Jan 28 | 1436.10 35781 x 35791 x 0.0 GEO 160.0E | ||
| 1993 Jan 5 | 1436.09 35775 x 35797 x 0.0 GEO 160.0E | ||
Thursday, May 27, 1999
Milstar 3
1999-023A
Milstar F3, the first Milstar 2, was the first to carry an MDR (medium data rate) payload as well as the LDR. EHF, SHF and UHF coverage. Mass is 4500 kg. Size is 15.5m long 35m span.
Titan 4 B-32 took off from pad 40 at the Cape on 1999 Apr 30, launched by 45SW/3SLS. The vehicle had a 76' fairing. An incorrect constant in the flight software, the roll rate filter constant, was set to -0.199 instead of -1.99, causing extra rolls during the first Centaur burn, depleting the RCS fuel for later burns. SOC-42 control deployed the solar arrays and payload truss wings.
| Milstar F3 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Apr 30 | 1630 | Launch by Titan 4 B-32/TC-14 | CC LC40 |
| T+2:10 Stage 1 burn | |||
| T+2:25 SRMU sep | |||
| T+3:33 Fairing sep | |||
| T+5:25 Stage 2 burn | |||
| T+5:25 Stage 1 sep | |||
| T+9:06 Stage 2 MECO | |||
| T+9:15 Stage 2 sep | |||
| 1639 | T+9:36s Centaur TC-14 MES-1 | ||
| 1641 | T+11:39s MECO-1 | 150 x 707? x 28.3 | |
| 1735? | T+1:05:01? MES-2 | ||
| 1740? | T+? MECO-2 | ||
| 1900? | Centaur TC-14 sep | 148.8 700 x 5169 x 28.2 | |
| 1999 May 6 | Orbit raise burns begin | ||
| 1999 May 10 | Orbit raise burns end | 153.5 1091 x 5162 x 28.2 | |
| 1999 May 12 | end of ops | ||
| Planned | |||
| T+1:05:42 MES-2 | |||
| T+1:10:54 MECO-2 | |||
| T+6:22:30 MES-3 | |||
| T+6:24:41 MECO-3 | |||
| T+6:34:54 Centaur sep | |||
Payload:
- -X wing
- MDR payload, 32 channels
- Crosslink antenna
- Thrusters
- MDR nulling antennas, 2
- MDR DUC distribution user coverage antennas, 3
- +X wing
- Crosslink antenna
- Thrusters
- LDR payload (low data rate), 192 channels
- EHF uplink 44 GHz
- SHF downlink 20 GHz
- SHF Agile beam antennae
- EHF agile antennae
- EHF Earth Coverage
- NSB1 narrow spot beam
- NSB2 narrow spot beam
- WSB wide spot beam
- AFSATCOM IIR payload (UHF, 4 channels)
- Fleet Broadcast channel, UHF
- UHF transmitters (2)
Wednesday, May 26, 1999
STS-67 (Endeavour)
1995-007A
Endeavour was launched on Mar 3 into a 346 x 358 km x 28.5 deg orbit to begin the Astro-2 mission. Bad weather at KSC delayed deorbit by one day; in the end Edwards was selected. Mass at deorbit was 104668 kg. Endeavour touched down at Edwards on Mar 18 after a record-breaking flight of 16 days, 15 hours, 8 minutes and 47 seconds.
| STS-67 mission events | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
| 1995 Feb 3 | 0715 | Roll to VAB | |
| 1995 Feb 8 | 1244 | Roll to pad 39A | |
| 1995 Mar 2 | 0638:13 | Launch | |
| 0640:19 | SRB sep | ||
| 0646:40 | MECO | ||
| 0647:00 | ET sep | 88.64 56 x 358 x 28.5 (OMS dV) | |
| 0718:34 | OMS 2 2:58 85m/s | 91.59 346 x 358 x 28.47 | |
| 0816 | PLBD open | ||
| 1245 | Begin Astro-2 observations | ||
| 1995 Mar 3 | 91.59 345 x 359 x 28.5 | ||
| 1995 Mar 9 | 91.56 342 x 359 x 28.5 | ||
| 1995 Mar 17 | 0505 | End Astro-2 observations | |
| 0536 | Stow IPS | ||
| 0700 | 91.54 338 x 361 x 28.5 | ||
| 1045 | Landing waved off | ||
| 1995 Mar 18 | 1807 | PLBD closed | 91.54 336 x 363 x 28.5 |
| 2039:13 | OMS deorbit (4:59) 159m/s | 88.44 38x 356 x 29.3 | |
| 2110:49 | Entry interface | ||
| 2147:00 | Landing EAFB RW22 | ||
| 2147:15 | NGTD | ||
| 2147:16 | Chute deploy | ||
| 2147:45 | Chute sep | ||
| 2148:00 | Wheels stop | ||
| 1995 Mar 26 | 1240 | SCA | Edwards |
| 1500 | SCA | Dyess AFB, TX | |
| 1930 | SCA | Columbus AFB, MS | |
| 1995 Mar 27 | 2247 | SCA arrival | KSC SLF |
| 1995 Mar 28 | 1402 | Arrival OPF/1 | |
TDF-2
1990-063A
The second TdF (Telediffusion de France) broadcasting satellite was launched in 1990 Jul. It broadcast 5 French TV channels and two radio stations. In Jul 1997 France Telecom transferred the satellite to Eutelsat. It was moved to 36E for Russian and Central Asian coverage. The satellite is controlled by CNES/Toulouse. Like TDF 1, it suffered transponder failures.
| TDF 2 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 Jul 24 | 2225:00 | Launch by Ariane V37 | CSG ELA2 |
| T+2:32 PAL sep | |||
| T+3:36 St 1 sep | |||
| T+3:39 St 2 burn | |||
| T+4:28 Fairing | |||
| T+5:47 St 2 sep | |||
| 2230:51 | T+5:51 St 3 MES | ||
| 2242:51 | T+17:51 St 3 MECO | ||
| 2245:36 | T+20:36 TDF 2 sep | ||
| 2247:39 | T+22:39 SPELDA sep | ||
| 2249:32 | T+24:32 DFS 2 sep | ||
| 1990 Jul 24 | 705.23 587x39146x62.9 | ||
| 1990 Jul 26 | 891.03 12749 x 35840 x 1.4 | ||
| 1990 Jul 31? | 0900? | LAM? | |
| 1990 Aug 6 | 1436.26 35781 x 35798 x 0.1 GEO 18.7W+0.05W | ||
| 1990 Aug 7 | 1436.19 35779x35797x0.06 GEO 18.8W-0.03/d | ||
| 1990 Aug 22 | 1436.11 35785x35788x0.04 GEO 18.8W-0.01/d | ||
| 1990 Sep 10 | 1436.10 35785 x 35787 x 0.1 GEO 18.8W | ||
| 1990 Oct | 2 transponders failed | 1436.10 35782 x 35785 x 0.1 GEO 18.7W | |
| 1991 Dec 16 | 1436.10 35775 x 35797 x 0.0 GEO 18.7W | ||
| 1993 Aug 16 | 1436.12 35771 x 35802 x 0.1 GEO 18.9W | ||
| 1996 May 1 | 1436.12 35769 x 35804 x 0.0 GEO 18.8W | ||
| 1997 Jul 6 | 1436.10 35774 x 35798 x 0.1 GEO 18.8W | ||
| 1997 Jul 29 | Move out? | GEO 19W | |
| 1997 Aug | Begin Eutelsat ops | ||
| 1997 Oct 4 | 1433.72 35724 x 35755 x 0.1 GEO 26.0E+0.5/d | ||
| 1997 Nov 18 | 1436.03 35768 x 35802 x 0.0 GEO 35.6E | ||
| 1998 Apr 27 | 1436.04 35758 x 35813 x 0.0 GEO 35.8E | ||
| 1998 Oct 12 | 1436.01 35730 x 35839 x 0.0 GEO 36.1E | ||
Monday, May 24, 1999
Globalstar 23
1999-004A
Launch 1999 Feb by Starsem Soyuz-Ikar. Ikar flew over 30 missions as a spacecraft propulsion system. Used as Kometa propulsion. The dispenser was built by Aerospatiale/Aquitaine.
Ikar dry mass 820 kg, fuel 842 kg, dispenser 390 kg, satellites dry 1524 kg, fuel for satellites 288 kg, total 3864 kg. Ikar uses 17D61 N2O4/UDMH with 2943 N thrust (3383N including 4 side thrusters) Isp for Ikar is 326 s so Ve = 3197 m/s, mdot = 0.92 kg/s or 1.06 kg/s. (If all fuel used in 610s, mdot is 1.38 kg/s for T=4412N)
Burn 1 was 352s, so 372 kg, dV = ln 3864 / 3492 = 324 m/s. Actual more like 180m/s implies 211 kg used, for mdot of 0.6 kg/s and mean thrust 1.9 kN. This means Ikar mass now 820 + 390 + 631 = 1841 kg. Maybe inefficiencies used up more prop. Ikar is then 820 + 390 + 470 = 1680 kg.
| Globalstar FM36 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Feb 9 | 0354:00 | Launch by Soyuz-U | KB |
| 0355:58 | T+1:58 Blok B-D sep | ||
| 0356:38 | T+2:38 Fairing sep | ||
| 0358:47 | T+4:43 Blok A sep, 215 km | ||
| 0358:56 | T+4:56 Interstage sep | ||
| 0402:45 | T+8:45 MECO | ||
| 0402:48 | T+8:48 Stage 3 sep | 236 x 884 x 52.0 | |
| 0623:31 | T+2:29:31 Ikar burn | ||
| 0629:23 | Ikar MECO after 5:52 | ||
| 0724:30 | T+3:30:30 Sep from Ikar | 915 x 947 x 52.0 | |
| 0724:34 | T+3:30:34 Sep KA-4 | ||
| 1999 Feb 10 | 0546:48 | Ikar deorbit burn 4:18 | |
| 0633? | Entry, Impact Pacific 50 55S 140 W | ||
| 1999 Feb 13 | 103.59 908 x 947 x 52.0 | ||
| 1999 Feb 25 | 105.53 1004 x 1033 x 52.0 | ||
| 1999 Mar 4 | 110.63 1240 x 1270 x 52.0 | ||
| 1999 Mar 8 | 112.61 1336 x 1355 x 52.0 | ||
| 1999 Mar 14 | 114.07 1410 x 1415 x 52.0 | ||