Transit Research and Attitude Control (TRAAC)

Artist's impression of TRAAC in orbit
Mission type	Technology
Operator	United States Navy
Harvard designation	1961 Alpha Eta 2
COSPAR ID	1961-031B
SATCAT no.	205
Mission duration	270 days
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass	109 kilograms (240 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	November 15, 1961, 22:26 (1961-11-15UTC22:26Z) UTC
Rocket	Thor DM-21 Ablestar
Launch site	Cape Canaveral LC-17B
End of mission
Last contact	August 12, 1962 (1962-08-13)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Semi-major axis	7,405.20 kilometers (4,601.38 mi)
Eccentricity	0.0102037
Perigee altitude	958 kilometers (595 mi)
Apogee altitude	1,109 kilometers (689 mi)
Inclination	32.44 degrees
Period	105.8 minutes
Epoch	February 7, 2014, 04:46:58 UTC[1]

The Transit Research and Attitude Control (TRAAC) satellite was launched by the U. S. Navy from Cape Canaveral along with Transit 4B on November 15, 1961.

Mission

The 109 kg satellite was used to test the feasibility of using gravity-gradient stabilization in Transit navigational satellites.^[2] It provided information on the effects of radiation from nuclear explosions in space, as it was one of several satellites whose detectors provided data for the Starfish Prime test; ultimately its solar cells were damaged by the radiation and it ceased operation.^[3] It was among several satellites which were inadvertently damaged or destroyed by the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test on July 9, 1962 and subsequent radiation belt. It is expected to orbit for 800 years at an altitude of about 950 kilometers (590 mi).

Poem

The first poem to be launched into orbit about the Earth was inscribed on the instrument panel of TRAAC. Entitled Space Prober and written by Prof. Thomas G. Bergin of Yale University, it reads in part:

And now 'tis man who dares assault the sky...

And as we come to claim our promised place, aim only to repay the good you gave,

And warm with human love the chill of space.^[4]