Saturday, December 25, 2004
Rocsat 2
2004-018A
Rocsat-2 was renamed Formosat-2 in Dec 2004. It was an Earth imaging satellite with a secondary science payload for imaging lightning.
Rocsat 2 prime contractor was originally DaimlerChrysler Aerospace but after political problems Matra Marconi Space (later EADS Astrium) got the work. Launch 2003. Mass 764 kg including 50 kg of hydrazine. Size 3?m dia 4?m high. hexagon + panel. First use of Astrosat-500 (Leostar 500XO) bus (Spot 5 derivative).
Initial delivery to 730 km orbit, then boost to operational 891 km orbit.
Launch by Taurus XL/3210 with 92" fairing. Control from NSPO MMC at Hsin-Chu in Taiwan.
| ROCSat-2 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 May 20 | 1747:03 | Launch by Taurus XL 3210 | V 576E |
| T+1:24 Castor 120 sep | |||
| T+2:43 Orion 50SXL burnout | |||
| T+2:47 Orion 50SXL sep | |||
| T+2:50 Orion 50XL burn | |||
| T+2:55 Fairing | |||
| T+4:06 Orion 50XL burnout | |||
| T+5:10 Orion 50XL sep | |||
| T+11:29 Orion 38 burn | -2836 x 714 x 99 | ||
| 1759 | T+12:42 Orion 38 burnout | 728 x 740 x 99 | |
| 1801 | T+14:37 Orion 38 sep | ||
| 730 x 743 x 99.1 | |||
| T+18:02 CCAM burn complete | |||
| T+40:32 RCS depletion | |||
| 2004 May 20 | 99.44 720 x 742 x 99.11 | ||
| 2004 May 23 | 99.50 725 x 743 x 99.10 | ||
| 2004 May 24 | 99.71 734 x 755 x 99.11 | ||
| 2004 May 25 | 100.14 763 x 766 x 99.10 | ||
| 2004 May 27 | 101.11 809 x 812 x 99.1 | ||
| 2004 May 28 | 101.54 829 x 833 x 99.1 | ||
| 2004 Jun 2 | 102.79 890 x 892 x 99.1 | ||
Kosmos 273
1969-027A
Zenit-2 No. 77 was launched on the same day Zenit-4 No. 52 returned. It landed after 8 days 240 km E of Tselinograd at 51 20 N 75 00 E.
| Kosmos-273 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 Mar 22 | 1215 | Launch by 11A57 | PL |
| 1220 | Blok-I burn | ||
| 1224 | Blok-I sep | 89.9 205 x 356 x 65.4 (TASS) | |
| 1969 Mar 22 | 1800 | 89.87 199 x 335 x 65.4 | |
| 1969 Mar 28 | 1035 | Blok-I reentered | |
| 1969 Mar 30 | 0403 | 89.67 196 x 319 x 65.4 | |
| 0530? | Retrofire | ||
| 0556 | Landed | ||
Pioneer 10
1972-012A
The Pioneer F (Pioneer Jupiter) payload was an entirely new design. The central bus was dominated by a large communications antenna and two booms holding nuclear RTGs which supplied electrical power. The first spacecraft to head to the outer planets, the Pioneer F and G probes were built by TRW for NASA-Ames. Instead of solar panels, they carried 4 SNAP-19 radioisotope thermoelectric generators using plutonium decay to generate electrical power.
Pioneer 10 was launched at 0149:04 on 1972 Mar 3 by Atlas Centaur from Cape Kennedy, Launch Complex 36A. The Atlas separated at 0153:10 and the Centaur ignited at 0154 on a single burn, ending at 0200:39. Centaur AC-27 separated at 0201, leaving Pioneer 10 and its Star 37E kick motor in solar orbit. The kick motor fired for 45s at 0202 and separated at 0204. The experiments were switched on at 0215. Pioneer 10 passed lunar orbit at 1500 on Mar 3. Trajectory correction maneuvers were carried out to refine the orbit: TCM-1A and 1B at 1219 and 1930 on Mar 7, TCM-2A and 2B at 2202 on Mar 23 and 1202 on Mar 24, and TCMs on Sep 19 and 1973 Jun 20.
TCM-1 moved encounter earlier by 9 hr; TCM-2 moved it later by 2.5 hr and moved the path 6400 km closer to Jupiter.
The Jupiter encounter phase began on 1973 Nov 6, with the bow shock crossing coming on Nov 26. Pioneer 10 passed Callisto at 1390000 km on Dec 3 at 1226*, Ganymede at 446000 km on Dec 3 at 1356*, Europa at 599000 km at 1526*, and Io at 357000 km at 1956*. Closest approach to Jupiter was at 2325:05* on Dec 3, at a distance of 130400 km. On Dec 12-18, Pioneer 10 left the Jovian magnetosphere and headed out to the stars. It passed the orbit of Uranus on 1979 Jul 11, Neptune in 1983 Jun, and by 1992 Oct 9 was 55 AU from the Sun.
At the end of 1996, Pioneer 10 was still operating, with the charged particle instrument, Geiger Tube Telescope, and UV Photometer operating for part of each month. Funding for tracking the spacecraft was stopped and the last official science data was obtained on 1997 Mar 31, although the probe would still be used for deep space tracking training exercises by the Lunar Prospector control center, and some science data from the Iowa Geiger Tube, the Chicago particle instrument, and the doppler radio science experiment were returned into 1998. It was still being operated in early 1999 as part of the Lunar Prospector controller training program.
| Pioneer 10 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 Mar 3 | 0149:04 | Launch by Atlas Centaur | |
| 0153:10 | Atlas sep | ||
| 0154 | Centaur MES | ||
| 0200:39 | Centaur MECO | 1537.96 152 x 75361 x 31.48 | |
| 0201 | Centaur sep | ||
| 0202 | Star 37E burn, 45s | ||
| 0202 | Star 37E burnout 13.896 km/s | 200 x -22505? x 31.5 | |
| 0204 | Star 37E sep | 186 x -22379 x 31.48 | |
| 0215 | Experiments on | ||
| 0307 | Pass GEO | ||
| 1313 | Pass lunar orbit | ||
| 1972 Mar 4 | |||
| 0536 | Pass 929000 km sphere | ||
| 2245 | Pass L1 distance | ||
| 1972 Mar 7 | 1219 | TCM-1A | |
| 1930 | TCM-1B tot 14m/s, B=140000 km | ||
| 1972 Mar 23 | 2202 | TCM-2A | |
| 1972 Mar 24 | 1202 | TCM-2B | |
| 1972 Sep 19 | TCM | ||
| 1973 Jun 20 | TCM | ||
| 1973 Oct 1 | Enter Jovian sphere | ||
| 1973 Nov 6 | Jupiter encounter | ||
| 1973 Nov 26 | Bow shock | ||
| 1973 Dec 3 | 1441 | Callisto, 1390000 km | |
| 1611 | Ganymede, 446000 km | ||
| 1741 | Europa, 599000 km | ||
| 2211 | Io, 357000 km | ||
1973 Dec 4 | 0139:24 | Jupiter, 130400 km | |
| 0249 | Max Earth-rel vel 72.27 km/s | |
| 1973 Dec 5 | 0000 | 1.6 M km from Jupiter | |
| 1973 Dec 14 | 10 Mkm from Jupiter | ||
| 1973 Dec 18 | Last magnetosphere exit | ||
| 1974 Feb 12 | Leave Jovian sphere | ||
| 1979 Jul 11 | Passed orbit of Uranus | ||
| 1983 Jun | Passed orbit of Neptune | ||
| 1992 Oct 9 | 55AU from Sun | ||
| 1996 Nov 1 | 66.26AU from Sun | ||
| 1997 Mar 31 | 1945 | Science mission support ends | |
| 1997 Aug 9 | Precession maneuver | ||
| 1998 Feb 2 | Precession maneuver | ||
| 1999 Jul 10 | Precession maneuver | ||
| 2000 Mar 21 | Contact | ||
| 2000 Jul 8 | Precession maneuver | ||
| 2000 Aug 19 | Contact | ||
| 2001 Jan | End of contact | ||
| 2001 Apr 28 | Contact regained | ||
| 2002 Mar 1 | Contact | ||
| 2003 Jan 22 | Last signal | ||
| 2003 Jan 25 | Contact support ended | ||
Friday, December 24, 2004
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Aquacade 3
1977-114A
The third Rhyolite, now renamed Aquacade, was launched at the end of 1977.
| RH3 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 Dec 11 | 2245:01 | Launch by Atlas Agena D | CC |
| 2247 | Atlas BECO | ||
| 2247 | Atlas booster sep | ||
| 2248 | Atlas SECO | ||
| 2251 | Atlas sep | ||
| 2251 | Agena burn 1 | ||
| 2251? | Fairing | ||
| 2254? | Agena MECO-1 | 178 x 180 x 28.5 ? | |
| 2338? | Agena MES-2 | ||
| 2339? | Agena MECO-2 | 178 x 33700? x 28.2 | |
| 2340? | Agena sep | ||
| 1977 Dec 12 | 0500? | LAM-1 | |
| 1978 | GEO 70E | ||
Progress M1-10
2003-025A
Spacecraft 259 on mission 11P, resupplying Expedition 7. Launch mass 7270 kg. Total docked mass 6934 kg at Pirs nadir.
After undocking on Sep 4, 259 was left in orbit for a remote sensing mission using the Klest-M TV camera.
| M1-10 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 Jun 8 | 1034:19 | Launch by Soyuz-U | KB LC1 |
| T+1:58 Strapons | |||
| T+2:41 GO sep | |||
| T+4:47 Blok A sep | |||
| T+4:57 KhO sep | |||
| 1043:04 | T+8:45 Blok I MECO | ||
| 1043:08 | T+8:49 Blok I sep | 88.78 186 x 241 x 51.7 | |
| 1409 | DV1 34m/s | ||
| 1456 | DV2 26m/s | ||
| 90.72 304 x 314 x 51.6 | |||
| 2003 Jun 10 | 1015:02 | DV3 3 m/s | |
| 1821 | Blok I reentry | ||
| 2003 Jun 11 | 0905:40 | DV4 9m/s 23s | |
| 0951:06 | DV 21m/s 53s | ||
| 2003 Jun 11 | 1114:43 | Docked with Pirs | |
| 1115:25 | Docking time (NK) | ||
| 2003 Sep 4 | 1941:44 | Undock from Pirs | |
| 2234:00 | 23s TCM | ||
| 2003 Oct 2 | 1126 | Deorbited 145.3s 78 m/s | 247 x 340 x 51.6 |
| DO CO | 69 x 253 x 51.6 | ||
| 1158 | Entry | ||
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
Tuesday, December 7, 2004
Sunday, December 5, 2004
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Landsat 4
1982-072A
General Electric was given a contract to develop a new series of Landsat satellites. Landsat D used Fairchild's MMS bus (also used for Solar Max). Landsat D (Landsat 4) was launched at 1759 on 1982 Jul 16 by Delta 3920 from Vandenberg. The Delta reached transfer orbit at 1810, and restarted for a 13 second circularization burn at 1853. Landsat 4 separated into a 699 x 714 km x 98.3 deg orbit. The MMS had its own propulsive capability and by Aug 1 the orbit had been refined to 702 x 706 km. The orbit had a 0945LT equator crossing.
Landsat 4 was turned over to NOAA in Feb 1983; meanwhile on 1983 Feb 15 the thematic mapper instrument failed. In 1985 operations were transferred to EOSAT (although the government retained ownership, via NOAA until 1998 when USGS took over the contract management). In Oct 1993 the satellite was inactive but still transmitting. The satellite was finally retired in Jun 2001.
| Landsat 4 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 Jul 16 | 1759 | Launch by Delta 3920 | |
| T+0:57 SRM 1-6 off | |||
| T+1:08 SRM 1-6 sep | |||
| T+2:03 SRM 7-9 sep | |||
| T+3:46 MECO | |||
| T+3:54 St 1 sep | |||
| 1803 | T+4:00 SES-1 6:50 | ||
| 1803 | T+4:05 Fairing | ||
| 1809 | T+10:51 SECO-1 | 150? x 700 x 98.3 | |
| 1810 | T+11:40 coast attitude | ||
| 1847 | T+48:11 SES-2 14.6s | ||
| 1847 | T+48:26 SECO-2 | ||
| 1852 | T+53:17 St 2 sep | 98.93 699 x 714 x 98.3 | |
| 1937? | SES-3 depletion | 95.15 357 x 694 x 101.8 | |
| 1982 Jul 17 | 684 x 700 x 98.3 | ||
| 1982 Jul 26 | Orbit raise | ||
| 1982 Jul 27 | 701 x 703 x 98.3 | ||
| 1982 Aug 1 | 702 x 706 x 98.3 | ||
| 1985 Sep 27 | Operations to EOSAT | ||
| 2001 Jun 5 | 98.83 698 x 707 x 98.3 | ||
| 2001 Jun 7 | 97.97 659 x 664 x 98.3 | ||
| 2001 Jun 14 | 96.81 594 x 618 x 98.3 | ||
| 2001 Jun 15 | Decommissioned | 96.48 583 x 597 x 98.3 | |