Pegasus 3
A Pegasus satellite in orbit
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1965-060A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.01467Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration1 year (design)
3 years (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typePegasus
ManufacturerFairchild Hiller
Launch mass10,323 kilograms (22,758 lb)
Payload mass1,450 kilograms (3,200 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date30 July 1965, 13:00:00 (1965-07-30UTC13Z) UTC
RocketSaturn I SA-10
Launch siteCape Canaveral LC-37B
End of mission
DisposalDecommissioned
Deactivated29 August 1968 (1968-08-30)
Decay date4 August 1969
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude516 kilometers (321 mi)
Apogee altitude536 kilometers (333 mi)
Inclination28.8 degrees
Period95.15 minutes
Epoch3 September 1965
Apollo micrometeoroid investigation
 

Pegasus 3 or III, also known as Pegasus C before launch, was an American satellite which was launched in 1965 to study micrometeoroid impacts in Low Earth orbit. It was the last of three Pegasus satellites to be launched, the previous two having been launched earlier the same year. It was manufactured by Fairchild Hiller, and operated by NASA.

Spacecraft

Pegasus 3 was a Pegasus spacecraft, consisting of 1,450 kilograms (3,200 lb) of instruments, attached to the S-IV upper stage of the carrier rocket which had placed it into orbit.[1] It had a total mass of 10,323 kilograms (22,758 lb),[2] and was equipped with two sets of micrometeoroid detection panels, and a radio for tracking and returning data.[1] The panels were 29 metres (95 ft) long, and equipped with 116 individual detectors.[3]

Launch

Pegasus 3 was launched atop a Saturn I rocket, serial number SA-10,[4] flying from Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Kennedy Air Force Station. The launch occurred at 13:00:00 UTC on 30 July 1965.[5] Following launch, Pegasus 3 was given the COSPAR designation 1965-060A, whilst NORAD assigned it the Satellite Catalog Number 01467.[6]

Pegasus 3 was a secondary payload on the carrier rocket, which was carrying a boilerplate Apollo spacecraft, Apollo 105 or BP-9A,[5] as part of a series of configuration tests for the Apollo program. The Apollo boilerplate acted as a payload fairing for the Pegasus spacecraft, which was stored inside what would have been the Service Module of a functional spacecraft. Upon reaching orbit, the boilerplate Command and Service modules were jettisoned.[1]

Operations

Pegasus 3 was operated in a low Earth orbit. On 3 September 1965 it was catalogued as being in an orbit with a perigee of 516 kilometers (279 nmi) and an apogee of 536 kilometers (289 nmi), inclined at 51.6 degrees to the equator and with a period of 95.15 minutes.[7] Once in orbit, the panels were deployed to detect micrometeoroid impacts. Experiment results were returned to Earth by radio.[1] The spacecraft operated until 29 August 1968, and subsequently remained in orbit until it decayed and reentered the atmosphere on 4 August 1969.[7] It had originally only been expected to operate for 720 days.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Krebs, Gunter. "Pegasus 1, 2, 3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  2. ^ "World Civil Satellites 1957-2006". Space Security Index. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  3. ^ Wade, Mark. "Pegasus". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on June 12, 2002. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  4. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch List". Launch Vehicle Database. Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  5. ^ a b McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  6. ^ "Pegasus 3". NSSDC Master Catalog. US National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  7. ^ a b McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
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