 | DMSP
Credit - USAF
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Other Designations: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. Class: Earth. Type: Weather. Destination: Sun Synchronous Orbit. Nation: USA. Agency: U.S. Air Force(AMS-1). Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. Typical orbit: 796 km x 827 km at 99 degrees inclination. Mass: 4,900 kg (10,800 lb).
DMSP Block 5D Chronology - 1976 September 11 - AMS 1 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 450 kg (990 lb). Perigee: 804 km (499 mi). Apogee: 833 km (517 mi). Inclination: 98.50 deg. Period: 101.30 min.
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.
- 1977 June 5 - AMS 2 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 450 kg (990 lb). Perigee: 788 km (489 mi). Apogee: 849 km (527 mi). Inclination: 99.00 deg. Period: 101.30 min.
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.
- 1978 May 1 - AMS 3 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 513 kg (1,130 lb). Perigee: 786 km (488 mi). Apogee: 799 km (496 mi). Inclination: 98.70 deg. Period: 100.70 min.
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.
- 1979 June 6 - AMS 4 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 513 kg (1,130 lb). Perigee: 805 km (500 mi). Apogee: 826 km (513 mi). Inclination: 98.60 deg. Period: 101.20 min.
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.
- 1980 July 15 - AMS 5 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: Separation problem gutted wiring from spacecraft. Mass: 513 kg (1,130 lb).
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. Although there was a press release immediately after the launch (by the spacecraft SPO) that said the 2nd stage motor exploded, in reality the problem was found to be due to poor design of the electrical connectors between the 2nd and third stages and a separation problem that ripped the wiring out of the spacecraft.
Bibliography:- McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page (launch records), Harvard University, 1997-present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
- Krebs, Gunter, Gunter's Space Page, University of Frankfurt, 1996. Web Address when accessed: http://www.skyrocket.de/space.
- JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Web Address when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.
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© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.
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