Skynet 2B

  1974-094A

---

The Skynet 2B satellite was similar to Skynet 2A in design. It was launched in Nov 1974 and began an extremely successful career relaying UK military communications. It ran out of stationkeeping fuel in the 1980s but it was still working in 1994. The spacecraft is currently drifting between 0 and 150 deg E longitude.

Skynet 2B
Date	Time	Event	Orbit
1974 Nov 23	0028:01	Launch by Delta DSV-3P-11A (2313)	CC LC17B
		T+0:38 SRM 1-3 out
		T+1:10 SRM 1-3 sep
	0031:45	T+3:45 MECO
	0031:54	T+3:54 VECO
	0031:56	Stage 1 sep
	0032:03	T+4:02 SES-1 4:43
		T+4:37 Fairing
	0037:16s	T+9:15 SECO-1	176 x 200 km
	0049:48	T+21:47 SES-2 16s
	0050:06	T+22:05 SECO-2	183 x 1152 x 28.17
	0050:58	T+22:57 St 2 sep
	0051:31	T+23:30 TES 44s
	0052:15	T+24:14 TECO Star 37 burnout	175 x 36965 x 24.6
	0053:31	T+25:30 Star 37 sep	185 x 36944 x 24.6
1974 Nov 23	0104?	SES-3 engineering burn	311 x 3347 x 28.3
	0600?	Apo 1 95E
	1700?	Apo 2 70W
1974 Nov 24	0400?	Apo 3 125E
	1500?	Apo 4 40W
1974 Nov 25	0130?	Apo5 170E
1974 Nov 25	0110	Star 24 AKM 42s, apo 5	GEO +6E/d
			36255 x 36621 x 2.3
1975 Jan 3		On station IOR GEO 50E
1975 Dec 30			GEO 55E (Morgan)
1977 early		Command system failure	GEO dr
1977 Mar 1			1435.25 35757 x 35782 x 0.8
1978 Sep			GEO dr
1979 Oct 31			1435.75 35753 x 35806 x 1.5 GEO 4.4E+0.1E
1979 Dec			GEO 1W
1980 Dec 6			1435.17 35740 x 35796 x 2.2 GEO 123.8E+0.2E
1981 Feb			GEO 137E
1981 Jun			GEO 140.4E+0.03
1981 Sep 8			1436.81 35791 x 35809 x 2.7 GEO 130.2E+0.2W
1982 Nov			GEO 6E
1983 Jan			GEO 1E
1983 Sep			GEO 9E
1984 May 25			1434.48 35753 x 35756 x 4.7 GEO 93.3E+0.4E
1985 Apr			GEO 138E
1985 Jun 2			1436.82 35799 x 35801 x 5.6 GEO 130.1E+0.2W
1985 Jul			GEO 0W
1985 Sep		Drifting
1988 Jun 27			1435.36 35759 x 35784 x 8.1
1994 Jan 13			1436.68 35776 x 35819 x 12.3
1994		Still operating
1998 Sep 8			1435.87 35751 x 35812 x 14.1