Monday, February 18, 1985

Surveyor 7

  1968-001A


Surveyor SC7 (Surveyor G) was launched at 0630:01, on azimuth 102.9 deg, on 1968 Jan 7 by Atlas Centaur. The Centaur coasted in parking orbit, then reignited and shut down at 0705:16 to deliver Surveyor VII to a translunar trajectory. The Surveyor made a course correction at 2230 on 1968 Jan 7. The radar was jettisoned around 0100 on Jan 10 and the retro fired successfully, with landing at 0105:38 on Jan 10 on the Tycho ejecta blanket. For the first time both the alpha-scatter and sampler experiments were carried on the same mission. The craft returned over 21000 pictures, and survived one lunar night. The surface sampler was tested, manipulating rocks and digging trenches. On the second lunar day, battery degradation limited operations. The last transmission from Surveyor VII was at 0024 on 1968 Feb 21. 


Surveyor 7 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1968 Jan 7  0630:01  Launch by Atlas SLV-3C Centaur  CC LC36 
 0632:33  BECO  
 0632:36  Booster sep-5940 x 100 ? 
 0633:17  Insulation panels jettison 
 0633:47  Fairing 
 0634:09  Atlas SECO  -5450 ? x 166 ? 
 0634:11  Atlas sep 
 0634:21  Centaur MES-1 
 0639:53 Centaur MECO-1  87.80 166 x 176 x 30.69 
  22.5 min coast 
 0702:20 Centaur MES-2  
 0704:15  Centaur MECO-2 166 x 729739 x 30.68 (GD) 
 0704:33  SV legs deploy 
 0705:16 Centaur sep  169 x 697813 x 30.69 
 0709:16 Centaur retro  
 0713:25 Centaur retro complete 166 x 483702 x 30.68 (GD) 
 2330:09  MCC 11.3s 11.1m/s  217 x 716748 x 29.5 
1968 Jan 10  0035  Attitude for landing 
 0057:34  AMR on 
 0102:13  Vernier engines on 
1968 Jan 10  0102:14  Radar jettison  -1056 x -9282 x 62.85  
 0102:14 Retro 
 0102:57  Retro burnout 
 0103:08  Vernier high thrust 
 0103:09  Retro eject  -1736 x 18 x ? 
 0105:12  Altitude 300m 
 0105:28  Altitude 15m 
 0105:36  Landing 40.89S 11.44W 
 1326  AC-15 flyby 19743 km 
  Centaur orbit  167124 x 445181  
1968 Jan 26 1412 Shutdown for lunar night 
1968 Feb 12  1900 Revived for day 2 
1968 Feb 20   Communications problems 
1968 Feb 21  0024  Last transmission 

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