Thursday, May 4, 1989
Explorer 15
1962-059A
The EPE-C (Energetic Particles Explorer C, S-003B) payload was modified for the SERBD (Study of Enhanced Radiation Belt Dynamics) mission, to analyse the new population of trapped particles around the Earth created by the US STARFISH nuclear explosion; it also detected particle injections by USSR high altitude nuclear tests. It was launched on 1962 Oct 27 at 2315:01 by Delta A from Canaveral into a 313 x 17640 km x 18.0 deg orbit. Explorer XV transmitted until 1963 Feb 9. In the 1980s Space Command recorded a decay date of 1983 Dec 19, but in 2000 this was amended to 1978 Jan 15, presumably following review of archival data. Satellite number 5992 is probably a rediscovery of Explorer 15.
This was the first launch from the Cape to a low inclination, involving a dogleg burn either in the Delta or the Altair phases. The Altair would have provided a total delta-V of around 3.5km/s. As a possible reconstruction, we can find a Delta trajectory of -1980 x 307 x 30.3 deg and a 30 degree yaw on the Altair apogee burn, which is a plausible solution. Alternatively, a -2380 x 306 x 28.6 deg Delta trajectory with a 25 degree Altair yaw gives the same final orbit. This is the minimum likely Delta inclination, so I adopt it as my reference solution.
| Explorer 15 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 Oct 27 | 2315:01 | Launch by Delta | CC LC17B |
| 2317:22 | T+2:21 MECO 82.6 km 4.918 km/s | -5030 x 300 ? | |
| Thor sep | |||
| 2317 | Delta S/N 2022 burn, 1:47 | ||
| 2319 | Delta SECO | -2380? x 306 x 28.6 | |
| 2328? | Altair burn, with yaw | ||
| 2330 | Altair sep | 313 x 17640 x 18.0 | |
| 1963 Feb 9 | End of ops | ||
| 1963 May 19 | End of tx | ||
| 1978 Jan 15 | Reentered | ||
Kosmos 1726
1986-006A
| Kosmos-1726 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 Jan 17 | 0721:09 | Launch by 11K68 | Plesetsk |
| T+2:00 St 1 sep | |||
| T+3:33? GO sep | |||
| T+4:38? St 2 sep | |||
| T+5:20? S5M burn 1 | |||
| 0727 | T+6:48 S5M MECO1 km | 60? x 650 x 82.5 | |
| T+40:58? S5M burn 2 | |||
| T+41:08? S5M MECO2 | |||
| 0802? | T+41:38? S5M sep | ||
| 1986 Feb 5 | 632x662x82.5 | ||
Wednesday, May 3, 1989
Saturday, April 29, 1989
Wednesday, April 26, 1989
Nova 1
1981-044A
Nova 1 (NNS 30480) was launched in May 1981. It was a 165 kg, 1.2 m long, 0.5m diameter improved Transit with an orbit adjust engine and a DISCOS system with a 79m gravity boom. The system carried 27 kg of prop at launch; by May 28 there were 8 kg remaining. Altair was 24.6 kg inert with 276 kg of prop plus 6 kg of instrumentation and balance weights. System mass at Altair ignition and burnout were 480 and 205 kg implying an Altair sep mass of 315 and 39 kg. Predicted Isp was 288.7s and predicted dV was 2390 m/s.
| Nova 1 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 May 15 | 0607:17 | Launch by Scout B-1 | V SLC5 |
| T+1:23 St 1 burnout | |||
| T+1:26 St 1 sep | |||
| 0608:43 | T+1:26 St 2 burn | ||
| T+2:05 St 2 burnout | |||
| T+2:38 Fairing sep, 111 km | |||
| T+2:40 St 2 sep | |||
| T+2:40 St 3 burn | |||
| 0610:45 | T+3:28 St 3 burnout | ||
| T+9:49 spinup | |||
| 0615:39 | T+8:22 St 3 sep | ||
| 0615:44 | St 4 burn 33s | ||
| 0616:18 | T+9:02 St 4 burnout | 354 x 936 x 90.1 | |
| 0618:46 | Despin | ||
| 0621:21 | St 4 sep | ||
| 1981 May 18 | DISCOS activated | ||
| 1501 | Orbit adjust 132s | ||
| 1947 | Orbit adjust 420s | ||
| 2352 | 640 x 982 x 90.1 | ||
| 1981 May 19 | 0232 | Orbit adjust 360s 3.8kg | 919 x 1107 x 90.1 |
| 1981 May 21 | 0721 | TCM-4 360s 30kg | |
| 1981 May 24 | 0207 | TCM-5 360s 2.6kg | |
| 1981 May 24 | 994 x 1201 x 90.1 | ||
| 999 x 1197 x 90.1 | |||
| 1981 May 27 | 1818 | TCM-6 420s 2.8 kg | |
| 1981 May 29 | 109.16 1173 x 1202 x 90.0 | ||
| 1981 May 30 | 1413 | Prop venting | |
| 1845 | Prop venting | ||
| 1981 May 30 | 109.05 1174 x 1191 x 90.0 | ||
| 1981 Jun 1 | Prop venting | ||
| 1981 Jun 3 | TCM | ||
| 1981 Jun 3 | Prop depletion venting | ||
| 1981 Jun 3 | 108.94 1168 x 1187 x 90.0 | ||
| 1981 Jul 16 | 2339 | Switch to operational freq | |
| 1981 Jul 31 | 1530 | Declared usable | |
Sunday, April 16, 1989
Wednesday, April 12, 1989
Tuesday, April 11, 1989
Kosmos 34
1964-034A
Zenit-4 No. 3 continued a rapid sequence of launches in the Zenit program, rocketing into orbit aboard the third 11A57 vehicle a few hours after the landing of Zenit-2 No. 20.
| Kosmos-34 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 Jul 1 | 1100 | Launch by 11A57 | KB |
| 1109? | Block I MECO | 202 x 348 x 64.9 | |
| 1964 Jul 1 | 1952 | 90.0 205 x 343 x 64.9 | |
| 1964 Jul 8 | 89.95 200 x 343 x 64.9 | ||
| 1964 Jul 9 | 0915? | Deorbit | |
| 0935? | Landed | ||
Monday, April 10, 1989
Kosmos 1310
1981-095A
| Kosmos-1310 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Sep 23 | 0800 | Launch by 11K65M | Plesetsk |
| 0820? | Stage 2 sep | ||
| 1981 Sep 23 | 476x517x65.8 | ||
| 1989 Apr 3 | reentered from 87.91 165x178x65.8 | ||
Wednesday, April 5, 1989
Tuesday, March 28, 1989
Kosmos 223
1968-045A
Zenit-2 No. 55 flew an 8 day Plesetsk mission. It landed 65 km NW of Tselinograd at 51 40 N 70 26 E.
| Kosmos-223 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 Jun 1 | 1050 | Launch by 11A57 | NIIP-53 LC41/1 |
| 1054 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 1059 | Blok-I sep | ||
| 90.1 212 x 374 x 72.9 (TASS) | |||
| 1968 Jun 1 | 1817 | 89.90 205 x 332 x 72.9 | |
| 1968 Jun 5 | 1811 | 89.83 202 x 329 x 72.9 | |
| 1968 Jun 9 | 0602? | Deorbit | |
| 0627? | Landed | ||
Wednesday, March 22, 1989
SBS-3
1982-110B
SBS 3 was the first satellite to be launched from a Space Shuttle Orbiter. It was deployed from Columbia on 1982 Nov 11 during mission STS-5. The PAM-D ASE in the cargo bay spun up SBS-3 and the PAM-D upper stage, which then were pushed out of their cradle by springs. Columbia backed off and three quarters of an hour later the solid PAM-D Star 48B motor ignited to insert SBS-3 in geostationary transfer orbit.
| SBS 3 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 Nov 11 | 1219:00 | Launch | LC39A |
| 1982 Nov 11 | 1952 | Open sunshade | |
| 1982 Nov 11 | 2017:35 | Deploy from PAM-D ASE, OV-102 | |
| 1982 Nov 11 | 2102:35 | T+8:43:35 PAM-D burn for 83s | |
| 2103:58? | Burnout | ||
| 1982 Nov 11 | 2106:06? | PAM-D sep | 293 x 36200 |
| 1982 Nov 12 | 662.81 287 x 37319 x 23.5 | ||
| 1982 Nov 13 | 2246 | AKM (5th apo) 56s burn | |
| 1982 Nov 13 | 1451.39 34834 x 37336 x 0.6 GEO 148.5W+3.8W | ||
| 1982 Nov 15 | Deploy solar panels, antenna | ||
| 1982 Nov 28 | 1420.13 35159 x 35787 x 0.3 GEO 104.0W+4E | ||
| 1982 Dec 2 | On station | GEO 94W | |
| 1982 Dec 4 | 1436.17 35783 x 35793 x 0.3 GEO 93.9W | ||
| 1983 Aug 11 | 1436.14 35785 x 35789 x 0.0 GEO 94.1W | ||
| 1983 Oct 28 | 1436.15 35781 x 35793 x 0.0 GEO 94.1W | ||
| 1983 Nov | Move to 95W | ||
| 1983 Nov 6 | 1436.11 35784 x 35789 x 0.0 GEO 95.0W | ||
| 1985 Apr 11 | 1436.12 35785 x 35789 x 0.0 GEO 95.0W | ||
| 1986 Nov 5 | 1436.12 35780 x 35793 x 0.0 GEO 95.1W | ||
| 1988 Apr 4 | 1436.10 35779 x 35794 x 0.0 GEO 95.0W | ||
| 1990 Jan 4 | 1436.11 35774 x 35799 x 0.0 GEO 95.0W | ||
| 1991 Oct 21 | 1436.10 35778 x 35795 x 0.2 GEO 95.0W | ||
| 1993 Mar 28 | 1436.12 35780 x 35793 x 1.4 GEO 95.1W | ||
| 1993 Sep 8 | 1436.09 35778 x 35794 x 1.8 GEO 95.0W | ||
| 1993 Sep 9 | mv out | 1435.13 35760 x 35775 x 1.8 GEO 93.1W+0.2E | |
| 1994 Jan 1 | mv in | 1435.88 35776 x 35788 x 2.0 GEO 73.9W+0.05E | |
| 1994 Jan 31 | 1436.17 35779 x 35796 x 2.1 GEO 74.0W | ||
| 1995 Apr 9 | 1436.13 35782 x 35791 x 3.1 GEO 73.9W | ||
| 1995 May 31 | 1436.13 35782 x 35792 x 3.2 GEO 74.0W | ||
| 1995 Jun 1 | Orbit raised | ||
| 1995 Jun 2 | 1440.82 35869 x 35888 x 3.1 | ||
| 1995 Jun 17 | 1441.03 35871 x 35895 x 3.2 | ||
Tuesday, March 21, 1989
Monday, March 20, 1989
Kosmos 294
1969-072A
Zenit-4 No. 63 flew an 8 day mission in Aug 1969 which overlapped with the Kosmos-293 long duration flight.
| Kosmos-294 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 Aug 19 | 1300:01 | Launch by 11A57 | PL |
| 1304 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 1309 | Blok-I sep | ||
| 1969 Aug 20 | 0700 | 89.79 20 x 329 x 65.40 | |
| 1969 Aug 27 | 0350? | Blok-I reentered | |
| 0742? | Retrofire | ||
| 0802? | Landed | ||