Applications Technology Satellite 3, or ATS-3, was a long-lived American experimental geostationary weather and communications satellite, operated by NASA from 1967 to 2001.[3] It was at one time reputed to be the oldest satellite still in operation.[4] As of 1995[update], NASA referred to the ATS-3 as "The oldest active communications satellite by a wide margin."[5]
![]() ATS-3 prelaunch | |
Mission type | Weather Communications Technology |
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Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | 1967-111A ![]() |
SATCAT no. | 3029 |
Mission duration | 3 years planned |
Spacecraft properties | |
Bus | HS-306 |
Manufacturer | Hughes |
Launch mass | 365.0 kilograms (804.7 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | November 5, 1967, 23:37:00 (1967-11-05UTC23:37Z) UTC[1] |
Rocket | Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-12 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | GSO |
Semi-major axis | 42,241.0 kilometres (26,247.3 mi) |
Eccentricity | 0.00043 |
Perigee altitude | 35,723 kilometers (22,197 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 35,862 kilometers (22,284 mi) |
Inclination | 6.92 degrees |
Period | 23.93 hours |
Epoch | January 21, 2014, 11:54:19 UTC[2] |
On November 10, 1967, ATS-3 took NASA's first color photo (digital image mosaic) of the full-disk Earth, which was subsequently used on the cover of the first Whole Earth Catalog.
Launched in November 1967, the ATS-3 was in service for 11 years before finally being decommissioned in 1978 along with ATS-1.[6] Among its widest-known achievements are the first full-disk, "true color"[7] composite Earth image (DODGE took color-filtered black-and-white images, put together they produced the very first color image of the full-disk).[8] Its imaging capability has served during disaster situations, from the Mexico earthquake to the Mount St. Helens eruption.[5]
ATS-3 experiments included VHF and C-band communications, a color spin-scan camera[9] (principally developed by Verner E. Suomi), an image dissector camera, a mechanically despun antenna, resistojet thrusters, hydrazine propulsion, optical surface experiments, and the measurement of the electron content of the ionosphere and magnetosphere.
Because of failures in the hydrogen peroxide systems on ATS-1, ATS-3 was equipped with a hydrazine propulsion system. Its success led to its incorporation on ATS-4 and ATS-5 as the sole propulsion system.[5]
The satellite is in geo-synchronous orbit 34,047 kilometers (21,156 mi) above the Earth's surface. The satellite has served as a communications link for rescue operations, including the 1985 Mexico City earthquake and the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.[10]
Circa 1970, ATS-3 was used to collect images of weather patterns, especially developing hurricanes in the Western Hemisphere. 1,200 line photos were downlinked, approximately every 25 minutes, during daylight hours to NOAA's Command and Data Acquisition Station at Wallops Station, Virginia and transferred to various users. The satellite was known for its spinning beam antennas locking up and rotating with the satellite. When that happened, it took a powerful ground-based transmitter, like the one at Mojave, to blast through digital instructions to get the antenna aimed back at earth again.[citation needed]
Applications Technology Satellite Program | |
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Flown | |
Proposed |
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← 1966 · Orbital launches in 1967 · 1968 → | |
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Intelsat II F-2 | OPS 1664 | IDCSP 9 · IDCSP 10 · IDCSP 11 · IDCSP 12 · IDCSP 13 · IDCSP 14 · IDCSP 15 · IDCSP 16 | Kosmos 138 | Kosmos 139 | ESSA-4 | OV3-5 | OPS 4399 | Lunar Orbiter 3 | Kosmos 140 | OPS 6073 | Diadème 1 | Kosmos 141 | Kosmos 142 | Diadème 2 | OPS 4750 | OPS 4204 | Kosmos 143 | Kosmos 144 | Kosmos 145 | OSO 3 | Kosmos 146 | Kosmos 147 | Kosmos 148 | Kosmos 149 | Kosmos 150 · OGCh No.8 | Intelsat II F-3 | Kosmos 151 | Kosmos 152 | OPS 4779 | Kosmos 153 | ATS-2 · RPM-481 | Kosmos 154 | Kosmos 155 | Unnamed | OPS 0100 | Surveyor 3 | ESSA-5 | Soyuz 1 | San Marco 2 | OPS 4243 | Kosmos 156 | OPS 6638 · OPS 6679 · ERS-18 · ERS-20 · ERS-27 | Lunar Orbiter 4 | Ariel 3 | OPS 4696 · OPS 1967 | Kosmos 157 | Kosmos 158 | Kosmos 159 | Kosmos 160 | OPS 7218 | Kosmos 161 | OPS 4321 · OPS 5557 | Explorer 34 | Molniya-1 No.8 | ESRO-2A | NRL PL-151 · NRL PL-152 · NRL PL-153 · NRL PL-154 · NRL-PL 159 · Timation 1 · Calsphere 3 · Calsphere 4 · OPS 5712 | Kosmos 162 | OPS 4360 | Kosmos 163 | Kosmos 164 | Venera 4 | Kosmos 165 | Mariner 5 | Kosmos 166 | OPS 3559 · OPS 1873 | Kosmos 167 | Zenit-4 No.32 | OPS 4286 | Unnamed | SECOR-9 · Aurora | IDCSP 16 · IDCSP 17 · IDCSP 18 · IDCSP 19 · LES-5 · DODGE | Kosmos 168 | Surveyor 4 | Kosmos 169 | Explorer 35 | Zenit-4 No.33 | OPS 1879 | OV1-11 · OV1-12 · OV1-86 | OGO-4 | Kosmos 170 | Lunar Orbiter 5 | OPS 4827 | Kosmos 171 | Kosmos 172 | OPS 4886 | OPS 7202 | Kosmos 173 | Kosmos 174 | Zenit-2 No.51 | Biosatellite 2 | Surveyor 5 | Kosmos 175 | Kosmos 176 | OPS 5089 | Kosmos 177 | Kosmos 178 | OPS 4941 | Kosmos 179 | OPS 4947 | Kosmos 180 | Unnamed | 7K-L1 No.4L | Intelsat II F-4 | Molniya-1 No.9 | OPS 1264 | Kosmos 181 | Kosmos 182 | Kosmos 183 | OSO 4 | Molniya-1 No.12 | Kosmos 184 | OPS 4995 | Kosmos 185 | Kosmos 186 | Kosmos 187 | Kosmos 188 | Kosmos 189 | OPS 0562 · OPS 1587 | Kosmos 190 | ATS-3 | Surveyor 6 | Apollo 4 | ESSA-6 | Kosmos 191 | 7K-L1 No.5L | Kosmos 192 | Kosmos 193 | WRESAT | Kosmos 194 | OV3-6 | OPS 5000 | OPS 1001 | Pioneer 8 · ERS-30 | Kosmos 195 | Kosmos 196 | Kosmos 197 | Kosmos 198 | |
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in brackets. |
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