1968-092A
The second Block 4B satellite (F22 or 6422) was launched on 1968 Oct 23 using the refurbished Thor 173. The primary mission ended in Sep 1970 when its recorder failed.
Initial orbit was a 20:12 LTDN SSO.
| DSAP 6422 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 Oct 23 | 0434:03 | Launch by Thor Burner 2 (173) | V SLC10W |
| 0436 | Thor MECO | ||
| 0445? | Burner II burn | ||
| 0448? | Burner II sep | ||
| 101.5 797 x 855 x 99.0 | |||
| 1970 Sep 17 | End of primary mission | ||
| 1970 Oct 4 | End of transmissions | ||
1957-002
After the success of the first satellite, a second PS was built with a small pressurized cabin. The 508 kg PS-2 was launched on Nov 3 into a more elliptical orbit, becoming satellite 1957 Beta. It remained attached to the 7380 kg rocket stage so that it could use the telemetry system of the rocket and to prevent overheating of the cabin. PS-2 consisted of a solar UV/X-ray detector package, a PS-1 sphere with pressure and temperature sensors, and the 0.8m long 0.64m diameter dog container derived from a suborbital R-2A launch design. Inside the cabin was a dog called Laika, the first space traveller. Laika (reportedly originally called Kudryavka) was a 6 kg, two year old female. PS-2, the second ISZ , also carried a radiation detector and a detector to measure the flux of X-rays and UV radiation from the Sun. It reentered and burned up in the atmosphere on 1958 Apr 14 over the Atlantic near the coast of Surinam.
| PS-2 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 Nov 3 | 0230:42 | Launch by 8K71PS | KB |
| 0232 | Blok-BVGD sep | ||
| 0235:52 | T+310s Blok-A cutoff | ||
| 0236? | GO sep? | ||
| 212 x 1660 x 65.1 | |||
| 1957 Nov 9 | End of transmissions | ||
| 1958 Apr 14 | 0145:25 | Alt 100 km over 74W 41N | |
| 0155 | Reentered over 57W 9N | ||
1968-084A
The ESRO IA satellite was developed by the Laboratoire Central de Telecommunications to study polar ionospheric and auroral phenomena. It was launched in Oct 1968 by a NASA Scout into polar orbit. Control by ESTRAC. Mass 85 kg.
The satellite was 0.76m dia 0.93m high cylinder, 1.53m high including the boom; 2.43m span across antennae. Two 0.1 kg yo-yo weights on 4.5m wires were ejected.
| ESRO IA | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 Oct 3 | 2049:39 | Launch by Scout B S167C | V SLC5 |
| 2050:47 | Algol burnout T+1:08 | ||
| 2050:58 | Castor burn T+1:19 | ||
| 2051:36 | Castor burnout T+1:57 | ||
| 2052:35 | Antares burn T+2:56 | ||
| 2052:35 | Heatshield sep T+2:56 | ||
| 2053:09 | Antares burnout T+3:30 | ||
| 2053:16 | Coast T+3:37 | ||
| Antares sep T+5:56 | |||
| 2055:42 | FW4S burn T+6:00 30.6s | ||
| 2056:12 | FW4S burnout T+6:34 | ||
| 2101:03 | FW4S sep T+11:26 | ||
| T+11:28 S-44 boom deploy | |||
| 2101:11 | T+11:32 Yo-yo weights | ||
| T+11:34 S-45 boom deploy | |||
| 103.0 258 x 1538 x 93.8 | |||
| 1970 Jun 26 | Reentered | ||
1972-031B
SA-511 was launched on 1972 Apr 16 at 1754 UTC.
After CSM sep, the LH2 dump was nonpropulsive. The LOX dump Apr 16 at 2233 UTC to 2234 UTC gave an 8m/s velocity change.
The S-IVB-511 stage impacted the lunar surface at 2102:04 on Apr 19 at location 2.1N 22.1W with velocity of 2.655 km/s at an impact angle of 16.6 deg.
| S-4B-511 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Apr 16 | 1754 | Launch | |
| 2212 | APS evasive 80s | ||
| 2212 | CVS vent | ||
| 2217 | CVS vent complete | ||
| 2233 | LOX dump 48s 8m/s | ||
| 2334 | APS targeting 54s 2.5m/s | ||
| 147 x 451211 x 32.5 | |||
| 1972 Apr 19 | 2102:03 | Lunar impact | -119 x Inf x 14? |
1961-022
The second in the series, S-055A, reached orbit on 1961 Aug 25. Ascent was at an 80 degree elevation and 90 deg (eastward) azimuth. However, the orbit was lower than planned, 125 x 1164 km x 37.7 deg, due to a large injection angle error. (TN-D-1396 indicates initial perigee was 139 km, with an injection angle of -4.396 degrees; injection altitude was 455.6 km, so injection velocity was around 7.748 km/s).
The S-55 satellite was attached to the Altair X-248-A5 stage and a set of pressurized cells was installed around the rocket stage. Mass was 57 kg payload; 86 kg including the 22 kg empty Altair and upper 'D' Scout section, which was 6 kg. Size was 1.93m long 0.58m dia. LaRC managed the project, with detectors from LaRC, LeRC and GSFC.
| Explorer 13 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 Aug 25 | 1829:44 | Launch by Scout ST-6 | WI |
| T+0:42 St 1 Algol burnout 1.1 km/s 15 km | |||
| T+1:14 St 1 sep | |||
| T+1:14 St 2 Castor burn 38 km 0.9 km/s | |||
| 1831:41 | T+1:57 St 2 burnout 76 km 2.7 km/s | ||
| T+1:57 St 3 heat shield sep | |||
| 1831:59 | T+2:15 Fairing sep 107 km | ||
| 1831:59 | St 2 sep | ||
| 1831:59 | T+2:15 St 3 Antares burn, 107 km 2.7 km/s | ||
| 1832:36 | T+2:52 St 3 burnout | ||
| Coast | |||
| 1837:46 | Spinup to 190 rpm | ||
| 1837:48 | T+8:04 St 3 sep | ||
| 1837:48 | T+8:04 St 4 Altair burn 453 km | ||
| 1838:29 | T+8:45 St 4 burnout | ||
1961 Aug 25 | (Minitrack) | 113 x 1147 x 37.7 | |
| 1961 Aug 26 | 97.5 125 x 1164 x 37.7 | ||
| 1961 Aug 28 | Reentered | ||
