Thursday, April 10, 1997

Surveyor SM-2

  1966-030A


The Surveyor Mass Model mission carried a Surveyor mass model in another test of Centaur restart capability. Launch was on 1966 Apr 8 at 0100:01. Atlas SECO was 8 sec early when fuel ran out. Centaur 6D (AC-8) reached a 167 x 167 km parking orbit at 0111, burning 8 s long to compensate. The second ignition of the RL10YA3-3 engines was meant to inject M-2 into a 178 x 926000 km orbit and then make a retroburn to place AC-8 in a 180 x 481000 km path, but the Centaur shut down after 17 seconds when only one engine ignited. The final orbit was only 175 x 344 km x 30.7 deg. Surveyor M-2 reentered on 1966 May 5, and Centaur AC-8 reentered on Apr 17.


AC-8 
 

DateTimeEventOrbit  

1966 Apr 8  0100:02  Launch by AC-8  CKAFS LC36B 
 0102:25 T+2:23 Atlas BECO 57 km? 
 0102:59  T+2:57 Insulation panels sep 
 0103:26  T+3:24 Fairing sep 
 0103:51 T+3:49 Atlas SECO 145 km? 
 0104:01 T+3:59 Atlas sep 
 0104:06 T+4:05 Centaur MES-1  
 0109:41 T+9:39 Centaur MECO-1 88.06 161 x 186 x 30.84 
   88.071 165 x 193 x 30.83 (GD) 
 0134:36  T+34:34 Centaur MES-2 
 0134:53  T+34:51 Centaur MECO-2, 17s  175 x 344 x 30.7 
 0137:30s  T+37:30s Surveyor Model sep 
 0141:32  T+41:30 Centaur blowdown 
1966 Apr 17  AC-8 reentered 
1966 May 5   SM-2 reentered 

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