Skynet

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Class: Communications. Type: Military. Destination: Medium Earth Orbit. Nation: UK. Agency: UK MoD.

Typical orbit: 18377 km circular orbit, 24.8 deg inclination. Mass: 129 kg (284 lb).

Skynet Chronology

1974 January 19 - Skynet 2A - Program: Skynet. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: LC17B. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: Partial Failure. Failed to reach planned orbit. Mass: 129 kg (284 lb). Perigee: 104 km (64 mi). Apogee: 1,803 km (1,120 mi). Inclination: 37.50 deg. Period: 104.10 min.
Partial Failure. Failed to reach planned orbit.

1974 November 23 - Skynet 2B - Program: Skynet. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: LC17B. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 129 kg (284 lb). Perigee: 35,782 km (22,233 mi). Apogee: 35,822 km (22,258 mi). Inclination: 12.20 deg. Period: 1,436.90 min.
Military communications. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Indian Ocean at 50-55 deg E in 1975-1977; drifting As of 3 September 2001 located at 18.23 deg E drifting at 0.206 deg W per day. As of 2007 Feb 27 located at 54.93E drifting at 0.393E degrees per day.

Bibliography:

McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page (launch records), Harvard University, 1997-present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Web Address when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.
McDowell, Jonathan, Launch Log, October 1998. Web Address when accessed: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/log/launch.html.

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