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OV2

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OV-2-5
Credit: USAF Museum

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Status: Operational 1965. First Launch: 1965-10-15. Last Launch: 1968-09-26. Number: 6 . Gross mass: 189 kg (416 lb).

The satellites had diverse applications.

Northrop Systems Laboratories developed and produced the OV2 satellites for the USAF Office of Aerospace Research. The satellite was a secondary payload for the Titan III-C test flights. Three of the satellites were designed by Northrop, each with diverse applications. The first two OV2 satellites failed to orbit, due to a Titan transtage malfunction. Northrop designed, fabricated, integrated, assembled and tested the OV2 vehicles for the Air Force. On-board experimentation was provided by Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRL), Air Force Weapons Laboratory (AFWL), and the Air Force Space Systems Division, Aerospace Corporation (SSD/Aerospace). Most subsystem equipment used on the OV2 spacecraft had been demonstrated on previous programs and was readily available for other experiment applications, The spacecraft series was powered by solar energy collected by 4 paddles which extend when the vehicle was in orbit. Span of the basic satellite with paddles extended was approximately 3.7 m. The OV2-5 was a low cost, near-earth space research satellite. It was designed for solar, magnetic, and cosmic ray research in space. On September 28, 1968, it was boosted from the ground by a Titan III launch vehicle into a circular equatorial orbit at an altitude of 22,000 miles above the Earth. It was designed with an operating life in space of at least one year.

Photo Gallery

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OV2 Credit: Manufacturer Image

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OV2 Credit: USAF

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• OV2-01 - . Mass: 170 kg (370 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Class: Earth. Type: Magnetosphere satellite. Spacecraft: OV2. Decay Date: 1972-07-27 . USAF Sat Cat: 1624 . COSPAR: 1965-082B. Apogee: 791 km (491 mi). Perigee: 708 km (439 mi). Inclination: 32.60 deg. Period: 99.80 min. Dual launch with LCS 2; upper stage broke up. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A). .

• Transtage 4 - . Mass: 189 kg (416 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Spacecraft: OV2. Decay Date: 1972-07-27 . USAF Sat Cat: 1624 . COSPAR: 1965-082xx. Apogee: 264 km (164 mi). Perigee: 229 km (142 mi). Inclination: 32.30 deg. Period: 89.40 min.

• LCS 2 - . Mass: 189 kg (416 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Spacecraft: OV2. COSPAR: 1965-082xx.

  The second Titan IIIC (Vehicle #4) was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral. This was the first Titan IIIC to carry an operational payload. Three satellites were placed in orbit - an LCS-2 radar calibration sphere, an OV 2-1 radiation sensor, and a metal-ballasted dummy payload. All systems performed well until the second planned burn of the Transtage engines just prior to the injection of the multiple payload into orbit. At this point in the mission, the Transtage exploded due to a malfunction, abruptly terminating the mission.

• Transtage 8 - . Mass: 189 kg (416 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF AFSC. Spacecraft: OV2. Decay Date: 1975-08-17 . USAF Sat Cat: 1863 . COSPAR: 1965-108A. Apogee: 22,114 km (13,740 mi). Perigee: 337 km (209 mi). Inclination: 26.90 deg. Period: 387.40 min.

  For the first time, Launch Complex 41, at the just completed Integrate-Launch-Transfer (ITL) complex at Cape Canaveral was used to launch the third Titan IIIC research and development space booster (Vehicle #8). As with the second vehicle, this Titan IIIC performed flawlessly throughout the liftoff and boost segments of the flight plan. However, severe difficulties were encountered when the Transtage engines malfunctioned and did not restart for the programmed third burn. Thus, the vehicle failed to reach near-synchronous equatorial orbit with its four-satellite payload. Lincoln Experimental Satellites LES-3 and LES-4 were released as was Oscar IV, but the OV2-3 payload remained attached to the Transtage.

• OV2-03 - . Mass: 193 kg (425 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Class: Earth. Type: Magnetosphere satellite. Spacecraft: OV2. Decay Date: 1975-08-17 . COSPAR: 1965-108xx. Apogee: 22,846 km (14,195 mi). Perigee: 321 km (199 mi). Inclination: 26.80 deg. Period: 399.30 min. Upper stage separation failed. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A). .

• OV2-05 - . Mass: 204 kg (449 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Class: Earth. Type: Magnetosphere satellite. Spacecraft: OV2. Completed Operations Date: 1968-09-01 . USAF Sat Cat: 3428 . COSPAR: 1968-081A. Apogee: 35,745 km (22,210 mi). Perigee: 35,113 km (21,818 mi). Inclination: 12.30 deg. Period: 1,417.90 min.

  A Titan ITIC space booster (Vehicle #5) was launched from Complex 41 at the Eastern Test Range and inserted four satellites into separate earth orbits. The primary payload was the Lincoln Experimental Satellite (LES-6) which was the second all-solid-state ultrahigh frequency (UHF) band communication satellite to be placed into a synchronous orbit. It was designed to test communications with aircraft, ships, and ground forces. The other three satellites were Office of Aerospace Research (OAR) payloads - two Experimental Research Satellites (ERS-21 and ERS-28) and an Orbiting Vehicle (OV 2-5) research satellite. Environmental research. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A). As of 22 August 2001 located at 128.37 deg E drifting at 4.618 deg E per day. As of 2007 Feb 27 located at 91.48E drifting at 4.631E degrees per day.