Friday, October 27, 2000
Thursday, October 26, 2000
FORTE
1997-047A
FORTE (Fast On Orbit Recording of Transient Events) is a LANL/Sandia project to detect and characterize radio frequency impulses such as EMP from lightning and the noise from continuous artificial transmissions. A principal goal of the project is to understand the relationship between optical lightning flashes and VHF radio emissions from lightning.
| FORTE | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Aug 29 | 1400 | L-1011 takeoff VAFB | |
| 1997 Aug 29 | 1502:22 | Drop | |
| 1502:27 | Stage 1 burn | ||
| 1505 | T+2:46? Stage 2 MECO | ||
| 1510 | T+8? Stage 2 sep | ||
| 1511 | T+9? Stage 3 burn | ||
| 1512 | T+10? Stage 3 MECO | ||
| 1513:38 | T+11:16 Stage 3 sep | 800 x 807 x 70.0 | |
Wednesday, October 25, 2000
Tuesday, October 24, 2000
Kosmos 482
1972-023A
The V-72 No. 671 probe was the last of the original design. It was launched on 1972 Mar 31, but the Blok-L final stage cut off early due to a timer failure, and the probe was stranded in an elliptical Earth orbit instead of being injected into solar orbit. It was given the cover name of Kosmos-482.
| Kosmos-482 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Mar 31 | 0402:33 | Launch by 8K78M | KB LC31 |
| 0407 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 0411 | Blok-I sep | 88.54 196 x 215 x 51.78 (RAE, 23B) | |
| 0502? | BOZ burn | ||
| 0503? | Blok-L burn | ||
| 0503? | BOZ sep | ||
| 0505? | Blok-L engine failed after 2:05 | ||
| 0507? | Blok-L sep | ||
| 1900 | 201.44 205 x 9805 x 52.22 (RAE) | ||
| 1973 Dec 16 | 1200 | 185.50 209 x 8589 x 52.19 (RAE) | |
| 1981 May 5 | Capsule reentered | ||
| 2000 Aug 26 | Spacecraft orbit | 144.65 214 x 5284 x 52.1 | |
Sunday, October 22, 2000
Kosmos 411
1971-041A
Kosmos-411 was satellite 1 of Strela-1M octuplet no. 2.
| Kosmos-411 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 May 7 | 1420 | Launch by 11K65M | PL |
| Stage 2 burn 1 | |||
| 1427 | T+7m Stage 2 MECO-1 | ||
| Stage 2 burn 2 | |||
| 1518? | T+58m? Stage 2 sep | ||
| 113.91 1318 x 1492 x 74.03 | |||
Saturday, October 14, 2000
Kosmos 557
1973-026A
The DOS 3 station, 17K No. 123, was launched on 1973 May 11. This time the station reached orbit, but failed shortly after separation. According to Chertok's memoirs the attitude control system was activated incorrectly and command-and-control mistakes led to depletion of the propellant in the first few orbits before the station could be brought under control. Instead of getting the name Salyut-3, DOS 3 was publicly designated Kosmos-557. Kosmos-557 reentered on 1973 May 22.
| Kosmos-557 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 May 11 | 0020:00 | Launch by Proton-K | KB |
| 0022? | Stage 2 burn | ||
| 0025? | Stage 3 burn | ||
| 0030? | Stage 3 sep | ||
| 0032 | Attitude control command | ||
| 0800? | RCS propellant depleted | ||
| 1973 May 11 | 1755 | 89.12 216 x 244 x 51.6 | |
| 1973 May 12 | 0500 | 89.01 214 x 243 x 51.59 (RAE) | |
| 1973 May 17 | 2200 | 88.62 196 x 216 x 51.6 | |
| 1973 May 21 | 0401 | 87.91 163 x 178 x 51.6 | |
| 1973 May 22 | 0307? | Reentered over Indian Ocean | |
Wednesday, October 11, 2000
Zond 7B
1969-F10
The 11F92 No. 5 (L-1S No. 5) spaceship was the test payload on N-1 5L, the second N-1 test launch. At launch, one engine failed and caught fire, and it and three others were automatically shut down. However, at 100 m above the pad, the remaining engines shut down except one, and the N-1 fell back to the pad and exploded. The plan was a circumlunar flight.
| L1S No. 5 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 Jul 3 | 2018:32 | Launch by N-1 (5L) | KB LC110 |
| 2018:40 | Engine 8 destroyed at T-0.2s | ||
| 2018:46 | SAS fired | ||
| 2018:50 | Engines failed, booster fell back to pad | ||
| 2018:55 | Crashed on pad, destroyed complex | ||
| 2021 | L-1S landed | ||
Kosmos 731
1975-041A
Kosmos-731 carried a 9KS capsule.
| Kosmos-731 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 May 21 | 0659:32 | Launch by Soyuz-U | Baikonur |
| 0704 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 0708 | Blok-I sep | ||
| 1975 May 21 | 89.5 203x296x65.0 | ||
| 1975 May 26 | 89.45 202 x 292 x 65.0 | ||
| 1975 May 31 | Capsule sep | ||
| 1975 May 31 | 89.40 201 x 288 x 65.0 | ||
| 1975 Jun 2 | |||
| 0330? | Deorbit | ||
| 0340? | PO sep | ||
| 0346? | Entry | ||
| 0402? | Landed | ||
Tuesday, October 10, 2000
Yuri 3A
1990-077A
The Broadcasting Satellite 3a (BS-3a) was named Yuri 3A on reaching orbit. The satellite used a GE Series 3000 bus, built with collaboration by Nippon Electric Corp. It was procured by NASDA for the NHK (Nihon Hoso Kyokai) broadcasting network, and operated by the Telecommunications Satellite Corp. of Japan (TCSJ). Two channels were used by NHK and one by Japan Satellite Broadcasting.
The bus was 1.3 x 1.6 x 1.6 m in size, 3.2 m high once the antennae were deployed with a 15 m solar panel span. Launch mass was 1115 kg, 550 kg BOL. Apogee motor is 0.8m dia 1.5m long 515 kg max propellant.
The satellite was turned over to TCSJ from NASDA on 1990 Nov 28. It was retired in Apr 1998.
| BS-3a | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 Aug 28 | 0905 | Launch by H-1 (H22F) | TNSC Osaki |
| T+0:40 SOB 7-9 on | |||
| 0906 | Strapons sep (T+1:25) | ||
| T+4:30 MECO | |||
| T+4:36 VECO | |||
| 0909 | Stage 1 sep (T+4:38) | ||
| 0909 | T+4:42 SES-1 | ||
| 0910 | T+5:14 Fairing sep | ||
| 0915 | Stage 2 MECO (T+10:45) | 151 x 200? x 30.7 | |
| SES-2? | |||
| SECO-2? | |||
| 0929 | T+24:00 Spinup | ||
| 0929 | T+24:05 St 2 sep | 91.12 184 x 475 x 30.67 | |
| 0930 | Stage 3 burn 62s (T+24:28) | ||
| 0931 | TECO T+25:30 | ||
| 0931 | Stage 3 sep (T+26:47), alt 190 km | ||
| Stage 3 tumble (sep+2s) | |||
| 1500? | Apo 1 | ||
| 2030? | Peri 1 | ||
| 1990 Aug 29 | 0200? | Apo 2 | |
| 0800? | Peri 2 | ||
| 1330? | Apo 3 | ||
| 1990 Aug 29 | 668.11 195 x 37680 x 28.8 | ||
| 1850? | Peri 3 | ||
| 1990 Aug 30 | 0021 | AKM at Apo 4 | |
| 1990 Aug 30 | 1470.95 35254 x 37677 x 0.3 GEO 157.7E+8.6W | ||
| 1990 Aug 31 | Solar panels deployed | ||
| 1990 Sep 7 | 1428.40 35191 x 36080 x 0.3 GEO 111.1E+1.9E | ||
| 1990 Sep | Partial solar power loss | ||
| 1990 Sep 19 | Tests | GEO 122.5E | |
| 1990 Oct 15 | On station | GEO 110E | |
| 1990 Oct 25 | 1436.06 35771 x 35800 x 0.1 GEO 109.9E | ||
| 1990 Nov 28 | Operational, to TCSJ | ||
| 1991 Apr 29 | 1436.19 35776 x 35800 x 0.1 GEO 110.0E | ||
| 1992 Apr 11 | 1436.16 35775 x 35800 x 0.1 GEO 109.9E | ||
| 1993 Oct 18 | 1436.17 35777 x 35798x 0.0 GEO 110.0E | ||
| 1994 Feb 22 | Electrostatic discharge, 1 hr outage | ||
| 1995 Jun 23 | 1436.17 35775 x 35800 x 0.0 GEO 109.9E | ||
| 1997 Aug 1 | 1436.13 35757 x 35817 x 0.1 GEO 109.8E | ||
| 1997 Aug | Replaced by BSAT 1a, in reserve | ||
| 1997 Sep 1 | 1436.09 35773 x 35799 x 0.0 GEO 109.6E | ||
| 1998 Apr 6 | 1436.20 35773 x 35804 x 0.1 GEO 109.7E | ||
| 1998 Apr 13 | Begin orbit raise | GEO 109E | |
| 1998 Apr 14 | 1444.07 35900 x 35985 x 0.2 | ||
| 1998 Apr 20 | End orbit raise | ||
| 1998 Apr 28 | 1445.04 35832 x 36089 x 0.2 | ||
| 1998 May | Orbit raise | ||
| 1998 Jun 9 | 1457.31 36154 x 36247 x 0.2 | ||
Monday, October 2, 2000
Apollo 10 (Snoopy)
1969-043D
Lunar Module 4 was assigned to the Apollo 10 mission, and nicknamed Snoopy after a comic strip character. Commander was Col. Tom Stafford, USAF, and LMP was Cdr. Gene Cernan, USN.
During preparations for undocking on May 22, the tunnel between the CSM and the LM would not vent properly. To work around this the LM was partially depressurized to 3.5 psi.
On 1969 May 22 Snoopy undocked from Charlie Brown (CSM 106), and fired the DPS in a Descent Orbit Insertion burn, going down to a 15 km altitude flyby of Apollo Landing Site 2, the future Tranquility Base. The LM 4 crew made visual observations and tests of the landing radar. The DPS was fired again in a phasing burn which increased perilune to 22 km. Two hours after the low pass, the descent stage was jettisoned. As this happened, the ascent stage entered a spin as the RCS jets fired in response to faulty data caused by an incorrect switch position. The crisis was soon over and the crew recovered control in only 8 seconds.
The ascent stage's APS engine was fired after jettison, sending Apollo 10 into solar orbit. The exact orbit is not known, but one estimate gives 2 km/s velocity at infinity corresponding to a range of 0.8 to 1.3 AU in extreme heliocentric range, depending on the angle; for most angles the deviation from 1AU is much smaller; an orbit of 0.9 x 1.1 AU is a reasonable guess.
| Snoopy (LM4) | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 May 18 | 1649:00 | Launched as cargo on SA-505 | KSC LC39B |
| 2045:24 | Removed from S-4B-505 by CSM-106 | ||
| 1969 May 22 | 1549 | Power up, crew entry | |
| 1747:50 | T+96:58:50 Begin LM depress to 3.5 psi | ||
| 1748:07 | At 3.5 psi | ||
| 1749:46 | At 4.0 psi | ||
| 1751:04 | Repress | ||
| 1751:41 | At 5 psi | ||
| 1900:57 | T+98:11:57 Undocked from CSM 106 | 109 x 114 | |
| 2035:00 | DPS burn, DOI (0:27) | ||
| 2035:28 | DOI CO | 15 x 113 | |
| 2130 | 15 km low pass over Tranquility | ||
| 2147:25 | DPS phasing | 22 x 352 | |
| 2334:17 | T+102:45:17 DS jettison | 21 x 352 | |
| 2334 | RCS burns, AS in spin | ||
| 2334 | AS control recovered | ||
| 2344:01 | APS burn (0:15) | ||
| 2344:16 | APS CO | 21 x 84 | |
| 1969 May 23 | 0034:55 | RCS CSI | |
| 0035:22 | CSI CO | 77 x 87 | |
| 0132:53 | CDH 2s | 78 x 87 | |
| 0211:55 | RCS TPI | 87 x 107 | |
| 0212:12 | TPI CO | 86 x 111 x 178.9 | |
| 0304 | RCS TPF, rendezvous with CSM | ||
| 0311:02 | Docked with CSM 106 | 101 x 111 x 178.8 | |
| 0326 | HO, Crew transferred to CSM 106 | ||
| 0437? | HC | ||
| 0506 | AOS | ||
| 0513:36 | Undocked from CSM 106 | 99 x 114 x 178.8 | |
| 0514 | LM cabin depressurized | ||
| 0515 | 3.0m/s sep from cabin venting | ||
| 0541:02 | APS depletion burn (3:33) 1158m/s | ||
| 0544:29 | 207s pressure depletion decay | |
| 0544:35 | APS shutdown, solar orbit 2.7603 km/s (dV 1132m/s) | 107 x -7559 x 179.1 (MR) | |
| 3.030 km/s? (dV 1402m/s) | |||
| (dV 1169.8, Tab 8.6-IV) | |||
| 4.91 km/s (dV 3282m/s) | 104 x -4095 (MR Tab 6-IV) | ||
| 0545:10 | 248s APS commanded off | ||
| 1019 | At 28078 km from Moon | ||
| 1159 | LM RCS burn 32s 8.4m/s | 290 x -7739 x 179.1 | |
| 1620 | Depart Lunar SOI, R = 66183km | ||
| 1700 | At 68292 km, 1.632 km/s; end of tracking | ||
USA-72
1991-076A
The second NOSS flight went from Vandenberg and entered a 300 x 590 km orbit before dispensing the triplets in a 1100 km orbit. The SLDCOM orbit had a higher perigee than the first, with an orbit of around 2600 x 11600 km.
| USA 72 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 Nov 8 | 0707 | Launch by Titan 4 | V SLC4E |
| 0708 | T+1:48 St 1 MES | ||
| 0709 | T+1:58 SRM sep | ||
| 0711? | T+3:59 Fairing | ||
| 0712? | T+5:05? St 2 MES | ||
| 0712? | T+5:05? St 1 sep | ||
| 0715? | T+8:50 St 2 MECO | ||
| 0716? | T+8:59 Titan 4 stage 2 sep | ||
| 1991 Dec 8 | 93.49 300 x 590 x 63.52 | ||
| 1991 Dec 9 | 93.47 443 x 445 x 63.20 (CSS) | ||