cosmos.wikisort.org - Spacecraft

FTV-2203, also known as Samos 5, was an American reconnaissance satellite launched in 1961 as part of the Samos programme.[2] It was a film return reconnaissance spacecraft, meaning that it returned images in a film capsule at the end of its mission. FTV-2203 was a Samos-E5 spacecraft, based on the Agena-B. It carried a camera with a focal length of 1.67 metres (5 ft 6 in) and a resolution of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in).[3]

FTV-2203

Mission type	Reconnaissance
Operator	US Air Force
Harvard designation	1961 Alpha Lambda 1
COSPAR ID	1961-035A
SATCAT no.	00218
Mission duration	15-30 days (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Samos-E5
Start of mission
Launch date	22 December 1961, 19:12:33 (1961-12-22UTC19:12:33Z) UTC
Rocket	Atlas LV-3A Agena-B 114D
Launch site	Point Arguello LC-1-2
End of mission
Disposal	Failed deorbit
Deactivated	December 1961 (1962-01)
Decay date	31 December 1961
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Eccentricity	0.0334
Perigee altitude	244 kilometers (152 mi)
Apogee altitude	702 kilometers (436 mi)
Inclination	89.2 degrees
Period	94.5 minutes
Epoch	22 December 1961, 14:12:00 UTC[1]

The launch

The launch of FTV-2203 occurred at 19:12:33 UTC on 22 December 1961. An Atlas LV-3A Agena-B rocket was used, flying from Launch Complex 1-2 at the Point Arguello Naval Air Station.[4] During the launch, the first stage sustainer engine failed to shut down on time, and instead burned until all of its oxidiser had been depleted. As a result, the spacecraft reached a higher orbit than had been planned.[5] It was assigned the Harvard designation 1961 Alpha Lambda 1.

Following launch, FTV-2203 was in a low Earth orbit with an apogee of 650 kilometres (400 mi), a perigee of 230 kilometres (140 mi), and 89.6 degrees of inclination. Within a few days of launch, it was commanded to deorbit in order to return its film capsule. This was conducted, however due to the additional altitude provided by the anomaly during launch, it was unable to fully deorbit.[5] The burn lowered its orbit, and it reentered the atmosphere on 31 December 1961. The film capsule, which had separated following the attempted deorbit burn, decayed on 9 January 1962.[6] The satellite had a mass of 2,580 kilograms (5,690 lb),[5] and measured 10.21 metres (33.5 ft) in length, with a diameter of 1.52 metres (5 ft 0 in).[7]

References

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