Thursday, April 25, 2002
Friday, April 19, 2002
USA-136
1997-068A
This payload was 4.6m in diameter and 12.2m long. The separated Centaur stage is 4.3m diameter and 8.8m long. Launch vehicle was K-20 (A-17)/TC-16. An EHF Milstar polar adjunct package was announced as a secondary payload on an elliptical orbit Titan 4 payload in 1997. The package is derived from the UHF Followon payloads. According to USAF, the NRL's MPTB electronics test bed was launched into a high radiation orbit in 'fall 1997'; I believe this was probably on the K-20 flight.
Publications of space physics data confirm that this satellite is the third in the series of HEO payloads.
| TRUMPET/USA 136 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Nov 8 | 0205 | Launch by Titan 4A-17/TC-16 | CC LC41 |
| 0206 | T+1:55 Stage 1 burn | ||
| 0207 | T+2:03 SRMU sep | ||
| 0208 | T+3:56 PLF sep | ||
| 0210 | T+5:06 Stage 1 MECO | ||
| 0210 | T+5:06 Stage 2 burn | ||
| 0213 | T+8:50 Stage 2 MECO | ||
| 0213 | T+8:56 Stage 2 sep | ||
| 0214 | T+9:17 Centaur MES1 | ||
| 0218 | T+13:43 Centaur MECO1 | 88.19 185 x 185 x 55.0 (ILAM) | |
| 0304 | T+59:21 Centaur MES2 | ||
| 0308 | T+1:03:30 Centaur MECO2 | 484.21 204 x 27890 x 55.0 (ILAM) | |
| 0400 | T+1:55:17 Centaur MES3 | ||
| 0401 | T+1:56:28 Centaur MECO3 | 713.84 1100 x 39059 x 63.55 (ILAM) | |
| 0418 | T+2:12:58 Centaur TC-16 sep | ||
| TC-16 orbit | 708.9 1075 x 38839 x 64.3 (UN) | ||
| (A) | 712.8 1098 x 39012 x 63.6 (UN) | ||
Pioneer Venus Orbiter
1978-051A
The Pioneer Venus Orbiter was launched at 1313 on 1978 May 20 by Atlas Centaur from Cape Canaveral. The Atlas stage separated at 1317:16 and the Centaur ignited at T+4:26. Centaur MECO at 1322 (T+9:36) left PVO in a 170 km parking orbit. At 1331 the Centaur reignited for a 2 min 17 s solar orbit insertion burn. When it separated at 1336, PVO was on a Type 2 Venus transfer trajectory with an aphelion of 1.08 AU. Control was transferred to the PMOCC at Ames on May 22. Correction burns TCM1 and TCM2 were made on Jun 1 and Nov 2.
The onboard solid insertion motor fired at 1558:05 on 1978 Dec 4 and placed PVO in a 23h 11m, 378 x 66900 km x 105.6 deg orbit around Venus. At 0527 Dec 6 it lowered periapsis to 233 km, and on Dec 9 the periapsis was lowered further to 180 km. By Dec 20 the orbit was synchronized to the Earth day, 1436 min 150 x 66900 km x 105 deg, when the last of 7 trim burns was made.
In 1979 Jan-Feb the periapsis was varied from 142 km to 175 km. On Feb 14 the OIR instrument failed. In August the PVO was turned off temporarily while the Deep Space Network supported the Pioneer Saturn encounter. The nominal mission was over on 1979 Aug 4, and was followed by EM1, the Pioneer Venus Extended Mission. By 1979 Sep periapsis had risen to 253 km and was lowered to 142 km. Extended Mission 2 ran from 1980 Apr 3 to Dec 2. In 1980 Jul the RCS gas ran low; the periapsis was allowed to rise. The period remains constant as the inclination, now at 17 degrees, would drift to 0 degrees by 1986, and back up to 17 deg in 1992. In 1981 the periapsis was too high for the ORM and it was turned off.
The Approach Phase began in 1991 Jan when periapsis began to drop from 1000 to 200 km. This was followed by the Entry Phase, starting in 1992 Jun. A periapsis raising burn (the 6th) was carried out on 1992 Oct 2, raising closest approach from 132.9 km to 141.7 km. On Oct 3 the propellant ran dry and the satellite had to be spun up on Oct 5. A final orbit raise of 1 km was made at 0525 on Oct 8 (apoapsis). After the next periapsis passage, 128 km at 1922 on Oct 8, no further transmissions were heard from PVO and the end of mission was declared.
| PVO | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 May 20 | 1313:00 | Launch by Atlas Centaur | |
| T+2:19 BECO 57 km | |||
| T+2:22 Booster sep 61 km | |||
| T+3:04 Insulation panels sep 98 km | |||
| 1316:44 | T+3:44 Fairing sep | ||
| T+4:14 SECO | |||
| 1317:16 | T+4:16 Atlas sep | ||
| 1317:26 | T+4:25 Centaur MES-1 | ||
| 1322:36 | T+9:35 Centaur MECO-1 | 166 x 170 x | |
| 1332 | Centaur MES-2 2:17 | ||
| 1334 | Centaur MECO-2 | ||
| 1337:46 | T+24:46 Centaur sep (MECO2+2:15) | 0.72 x 1.08 AU | |
| 1337:49 | T+24:49 Spinup to 6.5 rpm | ||
| 1650:30 | MAG deploy | ||
| 2056? | Pass EL1:4 | ||
| 1978 May 21 | 1700? | HGA despin | |
| 1978 May 24 | 0544 | Exit Earth sphere (L1) | 0.72 x 1.08 AU |
| 1978 Jun 1 | 1001 | TCM-1 axial 0.5m/s | |
| 1916 | TCM-1 radial-1 1.6m/s | ||
| 2146 | Spin rate trim | ||
| 1978 Jun 2 | 0006 | TCM1 radial-2 1.6m/s | |
| 1978 Nov 2 | TCM-2 | ||
| 1978 Dec 1 | 1900? | Enter Venus sphere/L1 | |
| 1978 Dec 4 | 1558:17 | VOI burn 1108.7 m/s | |
| VOI burnout | 1391.43 378.7 x 66900 x 105.0210 | ||
| HGA spinup 30 rpm | |||
| SC bus despin to 15 rpm | |||
| Inversion, spin axis to NEP at apo 1 | |||
| HGA despin | |||
| ORAD antenna released | |||
| ONMS cap jettison (VOI+36h?) | |||
| OETP radial sensor deploy | |||
| 1978 Dec 5 | OTM-1 | 248 x 66900? x 105.6 | |
| 1978 Dec 6 | OTM-2 | 233 x 66900? x 105.6 | |
| 1978 Dec 9 | OTM-3 | 180 x 66900? x 105.6 | |
| 1978 Dec 20 | OTM-7? | 1436.0 150 x 66900 x 105 | |
| Spacecraft despin to 5 rpm | |||
| 1979 Jan-Feb | Periapsis (km) | 142-175 | |
| 1979 Mar-Apr | 150-170 | ||
| 1979 May-Jul | 150-190 | ||
| 1979 Aug 4 | End primary mission | ||
| 1979 Aug 4 | Start Extended Mission 1 | ||
| 1979 Sep | 253 | ||
| 1979 Sep | Orbit lower | 170 | |
| 1979 Oct | 142 | ||
| 1979 Oct | 160 | ||
| 1979 Nov | 145-160 | ||
| 1979 Dec | 150-185 | ||
| 1980 Jan | 150-185 | ||
| 1980 Feb-Mar | 150-175 | ||
| 1980 Apr 3 | Start Extended Mission 2 | ||
| 1980 Apr-Jun | 150-180 | ||
| 1980 Jul | end of orbit maintenance | ||
| 1980 Dec 2 | End EM2 | ||
| 1981 | 400-800 | ||
| 1982 | 800-1500 | ||
| 1983 | 1500-1800 | ||
| 1984 | 1800-2000 | ||
| 1985 | 2000-2100 | ||
| 1986 | 2270-2350 | ||
| 1987 | 2000-2100 | ||
| 1988 | 1600-2000 | ||
| 1989 | 1200-1600 | ||
| 1990 | 1000-1200 | ||
| 1991 Jan | Approach Phase | ||
| 1991 Mar 3 | 1000 | ||
| 1991 Dec | 200 ? | ||
| 1992 Jun | Entry Phase | ||
| 1992 Oct | 132.9 | ||
| 1992 Oct 2 | PRM-6 | 141.7 | |
| 1992 Oct 3 | Fuel low | ||
| 1992 Oct 5 | spinup | ||
| 1992 Oct 6 | 130.8 (orbit 5054) | ||
| 1992 Oct 7 | 128.9 (orbit 5055) | ||
| 1992 Oct 8 | 0525 | PRM-7? 1km | 128 |
| 1992 Oct 8 | 1922 | Perapsis | 128 x |
| End of transmissions | |||
| 1992 Oct | Entry | ||
Progress M-42
1999-038A
Launch mass 7150 kg. At undocking, mass was 5800 kg. The Reflektor antenna was 6.4 x 5.2 x 1.1m deployed; the transport package was 0.62d 1.06l.
| Progress M-42 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Jul 16 | 1637:33s | Launch by Soyuz-U | LC1 |
| 1642 | Blok A burn | ||
| 1646:13? | Blok I MECO | ||
| 1646 | Blok I sep | ||
| 2021:51 | DU-1 burn 35s 14m/s | ||
| 2054:12 | DU-2 burn 19s, 14m/s | ||
| 1999 Jul 17 | 1727:59 | DU-3 burn 1m/s 3s | |
| 1999 Jul 18 | 1746:58 | Distance to Kvant 150m | |
| 1999 Jul 18 | 1753:21 | Docked Kvant +X | |
| 1835 | Hatch open | ||
| 1999 Jul 20 | Reflektor unloaded | ||
| 1999 Aug 26 | Closed TKG hatch | ||
| 1999 Sep 14 | 0311:52 | Undocked | 90.73 298 x 321 x 51.6 |
| 0610:40 | Deorbit 78m/s 8:30 | ||
| 0619:10 | SKD cutoff | ||
| 0653 | Reentered over Pacific | ||
Thursday, April 18, 2002
Saturn SA-7
1964-057A
The Apollo-Saturn 102 (AS-102) flight was launched on Saturn 107 at 1622:43 on 1964 Sep 18 from pad 37B. The Saturn S-4-7 stage entered orbit at 1633:15, with parameters 178 x 203 km x 31.7 deg. It reentered on Sep 22. Attached to the S-IV stage were S-IU-7 and Apollo BP-15.
| SA-7 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 Sep 18 | 1622:43 | Launch by Saturn 107 | CK LC37B |
| 1625:04 | IECO | ||
| 1625:10 | OECO | ||
| 1625:11 | Sep, 76? km 23 deg 3.05km/s | -5940 x 159 x 32 | |
| 1625:13 | S-4 MES | ||
| 1625:23 | Ullage sep | ||
| 1625:23 | LES sep 85? km 20 deg 3.08 km/s | -5910 x 152 x 32 | |
| 1627:36 | SI apogee 159 km | ||
| 1631:40 | SI impact | ||
| 1633:04 | T+10:21 MECO | 180 x 234 x 31,75 (MPR) | |
| 1702 | End of SA-7 tx | ||
| 2100 | End of beacon | ||
| 1964 Sep 18 | 2300? | End of BP-15 tx | |
| 1964 Sep 22 | 1150? | reentry 21.7S 56.4E | |
| 1200? | impact 26.4S 69.0E | ||
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
Kosmos 677
1974-072A
Kosmos-677 was satellite 1 of Strela-1M octuplet no. 10.
| Kosmos-677 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 Sep 19 | 1457 | Launch by 11K65M | PL |
| Stage 2 burn 1 | |||
| 1504 | T+7m Stage 2 MECO-1 | ||
| Stage 2 burn 2 | |||
| 1555? | T+58m? Stage 2 sep | ||
| 114.53 1399 x 1469 x 74.03 | |||
Tuesday, April 16, 2002
Sunday, April 14, 2002
Molniya 190
1997-054A
Another 11F658T satellite, no. 80046398, was launched in Sep 1997. It began orbital decay in 2010.
| Molniya-1T F95 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Sep 24 | 2131:44 | Launch by 8K78M | PL LC43/4 |
| 2136 | T+4:46 Blok A sep | ||
| 2136 | T+4:56 KhO sep | ||
| 2140 | T+8:46 Blok-I MECO | ||
| 2140 | T+8:50 Blok-I sep | ||
| 2225 | T+53:16 BOZ burn | ||
| 2225 | T+53:56 BOZ sep | ||
| ML burn | |||
| 2228 | T+56:46 ML MECO | ||
| 2228 | T+56:54 ML sep | ||
| 1997 Oct 28 | 717.77 492 x 39962 x 62.9 | ||
| 1999 Apr 1 | 717.75 1181 x 39171 x 63.1 | ||
Friday, April 12, 2002
Kosmos 2340
1997-015A
Oko #77 was launched in 1997 with an AOP of 318 deg.
| Kosmos-2340 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Apr 9 | 0858:45 | Launch by Molniya-M | PL LC16 |
| 0903 | Blok A sep | ||
| 0907 | Blok I MECO | ||
| 0907 | Blok I sep | ||
| 0948? | Blok L burn | ||
| 0955 | Blok L sep | ||
| 2001 Mar | end of ops | ||
| 2001 Mar 30 | 717.97 2730 x 37633 x 64.0 | ||
Wednesday, April 10, 2002
Explorer 50
1973-078A
The final IMP satellite was IMP J (Interplanetary Monitoring Platform J), which became Interplanetary Monitoring Platform 8 (Explorer 50) after launch. Launch was at 0226:02 on 1973 Oct 26, by Delta 1604 from Cape Kennedy. The Star 37E separated at 0238 and left the IMP in a 197 x 228809 km x 28.8 deg. The TE-M-521 (Star 17A) motor fired at the first apogee, at 0600 on Oct 29, but did not provide as much thrust as planned, and IMP 8 entered a 141185 x 288857 km x 28.7 deg orbit. It was still operating in 1998, with special measures taken to process its VHF telemetry after the STDN tracking network was closed down.
| IMP 8 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 Oct 26 | 0226:03 | Launch by Delta 1604 | CK LC17B |
| T+0:38 SRM 1-6 off | |||
| T+1:15 SRM sep | |||
| T+4:29 MECO | |||
| T+4:33 Stage 1 sep | |||
| 0230 | T+4:37 SES-1 5:27 | ||
| T+4:55 Fairing | |||
| 0236:04 | T+10:01 SECO-1 | ||
| 0237:20 | T+11:17 St 2 sep | 154 x 521? x 28.7 (78B orbit) | |
| 0237:33 | T+11:30 TES 43s | ||
| 0238:15 | T+12:12 TECO | ||
| 0239:57 | T+13:55 Star 37 sep | 197 x 228809 x 28.8 | |
| 0258? | SES-2 experimental | ||
| SECO-2 (78C orbit) | 360 x 2326 x 28.9 | ||
| 1956 | Pass EL1:4 | ||
| 1973 Oct 29 | 0600 | AKM burn | |
| 1973 Oct 29 | 0800 | 141185 x 288857 x 28.67 | |
| 1975 Jul 25 | 17287.48 215092 x 215092 x 19.7 | ||
| 1978 Jul 20 | 17375.79 177677 x 254023 x 40.63 | ||
| 1984 Apr 14 | 17550.98 190940 x 243718 x 43.3 | ||
| 1998 May 21 | 17576.75 190893 x 244218 x 31.8 | ||
| 1998 Oct 25 | Still operating | ||
Tuesday, April 9, 2002
Monday, April 8, 2002
USA-112
1995-034A
Another 26m shroud Titan Centaur was launched on Jul 10. This one went to a high inclination orbit, and is assumed to be in the same series as USA 103. The satellite is referred to as HEO 95-034 in space physics publications.
| USA 112 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 Jul 10 | 1238 | Launch from LC41 | |
| 1239 | Stage 1 Tig (T+1:55, burn 3:08) | ||
| 1241 | Fairing sep (T+3:56) | ||
| 1243 | Stage 2 Tig (burn 5 min, suborbital) | ||
| 1247 | Stage 2 MECO | ||
| 1247? | Centaur MES1 (T+9:23, burn 4:30) | ||
| 1253? | Centaur MECO1, parking orbit | 245 x 255 x 56.1 (UN) | |
| 1995 Jul 10 | 1345? | Centaur burn 2 | 250 x 32300? x 56.0? |
| 1995 Jul 10 | 1412? | Centaur burn 3 | 1000? x 39400? x 63.4 |
| 1995 Jul 10 | 1420? | Centaur sep | |
Friday, April 5, 2002
Wednesday, April 3, 2002
Monday, March 25, 2002
Progress M1-7
2001-051A
Progress 11F615A55 No. 256 carried the Platan-M experiment and Kromka-1. Launch mass was 7331 kg. Hard dock was not confirmed on Nov 28, and the station remained in free drift for several hours until it was decided that the docking was secure enough to allow the station to maneuver.
| Progress M1-7 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 Nov 26 | 1824:12 | Launch by Soyuz-FG No F15000-002 | KB PU5 |
| T+1:58 BVGD sep | |||
| T+2:32 GO sep | |||
| T+4:47 St 2 sep | |||
| T+4:58 KhO sep | |||
| 1832:56 | T+8:44 Blok I MECO | ||
| 1833:00 | Blok-I sep | ||
| 2001 Nov 28 | 1943:02 | Soft docked with Zvezda | |
| 2001 Dec 3 | 1455 | Progress hard dock during EVA | |
| 2002 Mar 13 | 0006s | Orbit raise 3m/s | |
| 0053s | Orbit raise 3m/s | ||
| 2002 Mar 19 | 1743 | Undock | |
| 1746 | Sep burn 15s rate 0.6m/s | ||
| 2140 | 30s sep-2 burn | ||
| 2228 | sep-3 burn | ||
| 2002 Mar 20 | 0127:23s | Deorbit burn 3:10 | |
| 0220 | Reentered over Pacific | ||