Test of separable warhead. Range achieved 200 km. Ballistic launch. Expected range 210 km. Launched at 0612 local time. The launches were first made public by Tass on March 27, 1958: 'In May 1949 a single-stage Russian rocket attained an altitude of 109 km with an instrument payload of 120 to 130 kg'.
ARDC headquarters issued System Requirement 201, declaring the purpose of the Dyna-Soar vehicle was to determine the military potential of a boost-glide weapon system and provide research data on flight characteristics up to and including global flight. The Air Force disagreed with the position of the Secretary of Defence's office that Dynasoar be limited to suborbital research flights.
Fired from AMR at 2047 hours EST. All primary missions were essentially successful, although the impact was 69 nm short and 4.9 nm to the right of the 1,302 nm predicted impact point. This undershoot was due to thrust controller deviation which commanded the exceedingly high thrust level during the main power flight pre-selected flight path. Cut-off occurred at 144 seconds of flight.
Albert C. Hall of The Martin Company proposed to Robert C. Seamans, Jr., NASA's Associate Administrator, that the Titan II be considered as a launch vehicle in the lunar landing program. Although skeptical, Seamans arranged for a more formal presentation the next day. Abe Silverstein, NASA's Director of Space Flight Programs, was sufficiently impressed to ask Director Robert R. Gilruth and STG to study the possible uses of Titan II. Silverstein shortly informed Seamans of the possibility of using the Titan II to launch a scaled-up Mercury spacecraft.
In initial study contracts, Martin proposed vehicle similar to the Apollo configuration that would eventually fly and closest to STG concepts. GE proposed design that would lead directly to Soyuz. Convair proposed a lifting body concept. All bidders were influenced by STG mid-term review that complained that they were not paying enough attention to conical blunt-body CM as envisioned by STG.
Korolev meets with the cosmonauts, VVS, and RVSN staff to discuss concerns as to the safety of Voskhod. As for flying without spacesuits, Korolev points out than in 14 Zenit-2/Zenit-4 and 10 Vostok flights there has not been a single instance of loss of cabin pressure. He conveniently omits stating that the suit used on the Vostok missions allowed the cosmonaut 4 to 6 hours of oxygen supply to return to earth in case of cabin depressurisation; but on Voskhod the crew will perish. As for individual crew parachutes, he believes they are useless since the crew would not get a chance to use them in an emergency anyway. Korolev sold Khrushchev on the mission by characterising Voskhod as a modification of the reliable Vostok spacecraft. However, he did inform Khrushchev that the risk of loss of the crew on a Voskhod flight was greater than on a Vostok flight. However it was decided this risk was worth taking in exchange for the great political effect of having the first multi-man crew in space.
Aboard Mishin's aircraft, he discusses his plans with Kamanin. He plans to launch two unmanned Soyuz spacecraft in the second half of July. An automated docking will be attempted, but the mission will be considered successful if the spacecraft rendezvous in space and approach to within 50 to 70 m of each other. He expects to follow this in August with a manned rendezvous, docking, and crew transfer mission. Two further pairs of spacecraft will be available by November 1967. This means a total of eight crews, including back-up crews, will have to be trained. He wants Feoktistov to fly on one of these missions. Kamanin tells Mishin that it will take two to three months to prepare Feoktistov for flight and will be too disruptive to flight training. After arriving at Fedosiya they attend a Soyuz 1 State Commission meeting from 10:00 to 13:00. Tests of the Soyuz parachute system are to be conducted beginning 14 May, on two mass models and one Soyuz mock-up.
Kamanin reviews the ongoing controversy with Mishin over assignment of Feoktistov to spaceflights. He then turns to the trials of the revised parachute system for Soyuz. The new design has been proven in three landings of spacecraft and 23 tests of mock-ups from aircraft. The SAS abort system has not been retested -- Korolev took full responsibility for its design, and the VVS accepted that in the old days. In any case the likelihood of having to use the SAS or the reserve parachute was not great. Yet still Mishin refuses to recommend going ahead with manned flights. 'I will only proceed when the Central Committee orders me!' he has said. Nevertheless he does declare that Soyuz is now ready to resume manned flights, except for the reserve parachute system, which needs two to three months more development. Based on successful completion of these tests, a manned flight will be possible in the first half of August.
A September 1968 flight test was planned. However the first stage LOX tank developed hairline cracks during ground tests. 4L was removed from the pad in June 1968. The first stage was cannibalized; the upper stages were incorporated into the 1M1 mockup for further training of the launch crews.
The planning on MKBS has progressed to the point where there will be an MKBS-1 with a DOS core (AKA DOS-A, later Mir); while MKBS-2 will use the MOK N1-launched core. At the Soviet of the State Chief Designers (17K)- About DOS number 3 and number 4 and DOS-A (MKBS-1)".
Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Americas at 104 deg W in 1975-1976; over the Americas at 114 deg W in 1976-1984 As of 4 September 2001 located at 32.38 deg E drifting at 0.812 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 138.81W drifting at 0.829W degrees per day.
Transport of various cargoes to the Salyut-7 orbital station. Docked with Salyut 7 on 10 May 1984 00:10:00 GMT. Undocked on 26 May 1984 09:41:00 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 26 May 1984 15:00:30 GMT. Total free-flight time 2.28 days. Total docked time 16.40 days.
Retrieved Intelsat 6 and attached new SRM. First active dual rendezvous of two orbiting spacecraft (Endeavour and Intelsat-Vl). First deployment of a drag chute on the orbiter fleet. Payloads: Intelsat-Vl reboost mission hardware, Assembly of Station by EVA Methods (ASEM), Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG), Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) Calibration Test, Ultraviolet Plume Instrument (UVPl).
Geostationary at 148.0 degrees W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 128 deg W in 1998; 148 deg W in 1998-1999; 110 deg W in 1999; 119 deg W in 2000. As of 5 September 2001 located at 118.91 deg W drifting at 0.001 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 77.02W drifting at 0.001W degrees per day.
Direct Broadcasting satellite. Launch delayed from October 2000, February, May 21 and October19, 2001, as the user and launch provider moved the payload from Proton to Atlas 2AS and then back again to Proton. The DM3 upper stage made two burns to put the DirecTV satellite in a 6568 x 35809 km x 17.7 deg transfer orbit. The Loral FS-1300 class satellite used its R-4D apogee engine to reach geostationary orbit at 129 W by May 19. The DirecTV satellite broadcasting company was a subsidiary of GM/Hughes. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 110.11W drifting at 0.004W degrees per day.
ISS logistics flight. Docked with the Pirs module of the ISS on 12 May at 19:24. Undocked with ISS on 30 June, conducted scientific experiments, then made a second rendezvous with the ISS at the Zvezda module to test docking systems for the upcoming Mini-Research Module 2. Backed away after getting within 10 m of the station. Retrofire on 13 July followed by burn up over the Pacific at 16:28 GMT.
First geosynchronous element of the Space-Based Infrared System, an expensive new multispectral early warning and tracking system that forms part of the American missile defense system. The system also include payloads installed on Molniya-orbit signals intelligence satellite (USA 184 and USA 200). The spacecraft carry an infrared telescope with a large focal plane infrared array to monitor large areas of the Earth at once. An internal moving mirror scans the visible disk of the Earth to detect and track possible missile launches. It also has capabilites to track high-altitude aircraft and thermal events on the surface. The new SBIRS network will succeed 23 DSP satellites launched from 1970 to 2007. GEO-1 was inserted into geostationary transfer orbit by the booster and used its own on Leros-1 apogee motor to maneuver into geosynchronous orbit.