Success
NROL-5 (Quasar 12)
Communications
Lockheed Martin(LMT)Commercial
Atlas IIA
Ellipticalorbit
Satellite Data System (SDS) spacecraft are communication relay satellites for transmitting real-time data from US reconnaissance satellites (e.g. KH-11, Onyx, Topaz) in polar areas. They are also used for communications to USAF aircraft on polar routes and connect the various ground stations of the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN). The spacecraft relay the downlinked data to a ground station at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Thursday, January 29, 1998 at 6:37 PM
Mission details
Orbital Attempt
#4,213
LMT Mission
#33
Pad Launch
#50
Location Launch
#542
Designator
1998-005
Launch Window
NET
Jan 29, 1998, 6:37 PM
Schedule Changes
1 update
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.
Timezone
America/New_York
Local Launch Time
Jan 29, 1998, 1:37 PM
Total Launches
1,109
Total Landings
75
Coordinates
28.4889, -80.5778
Atlas IIA Specs
Atlas II was a member of the Atlas family of launch vehicles, which evolved from the successful Atlas missile program of the 1950s. It was designed to launch payloads into low earth orbit, geosynchronous transfer orbit or geosynchronous orbit. Sixty-three launches of the Atlas II, IIA and IIAS models were carried out between 1991 and 2004; all sixty-three launches were successes, making the Atlas II the most reliable launch system in history.
Length
47.54 m
Diameter
3.04 m
Launch Mass
204 t
Thrust
2,479 kN
LEO Capacity
6,580 kg
GTO Capacity
2,810 kg
Reusable
No
Maiden Flight
1992
Fastest Turnaround
10d 8h
Total Launches
23
Successful
23
Failed
0
Consecutive Success
23
Maiden flight: Jun 10, 1992
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin's Space Division started in the production of missiles and later ICBM's in the 1950s. Their TITAN missile system was used for 12 Gemini spacecraft and the Voyager probes. They have worked largely in collaboration with NASA on many of their probes, landers, and spacecraft, and hope to play a key role in NASA's return to the moon in 2024.
Founded
1953
Total Launches
80
Successful
77
Failed
3
Pending
0
Consecutive Success
38