DMSP Block 4A home
topic index
DMSP Block 5D
Credit - USAF
Other Designations: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. Manufacturer's Designation: Program II. Code Name: Program 417, Program 35. Class: Earth. Type: Weather. Destination: Sun Synchronous Orbit. Nation: USA. Agency: U.S. Air Force.

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

The first CORONA photos in August 1960 convinced authorities that knowledge of cloud cover over Russia was necessary and could be obtained only via satellite. Since the civilian TIROS program could not yet meet the requirement, the Director, National Reconnaissance Office (DNRO) authorized an interim program.

Launched by "Blue-Scout" boosters, the system would operate for one year until TIROS could take over. Program II began officially on 1 August 1961. Colonel Thomas Haig accepted the program director's position on three conditions: that he could use fixed-price, firm-schedule contracts; that he could select the personnel for his program office; and, that he did not have to use a civilian system engineering and technical direction (SE&TD) contractor. When TIROS delays persisted, Program II continued as Program 35. Confronted by problems of operating the meteorological satellites within the ground system designed for CORONA, Haig proposed two dedicated ground stations and a separate control center operated solely by Air Force personnel-no contractors. Ten months later the nation's first operational satellite program manned entirely by Air Force military personnel became a reality.

After the "Blue Scout" booster proved inadequate, Haig proposed refurbishing Thor intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) and adding a second stage plus parts from other boosters to create a new launch vehicle. The latter, dubbed "Burner I," solved the booster problems and simultaneously provided a convenient way to dispose of an embarrassing excess of Thors returned from Europe. No longer an "interim" effort, the military weather satellite received yet another name-Program 417. Its use was expanded to provide information on cloud cover for aircraft flights during the Cuban missile crisis, the evacuation of civilians from the Congo, and air operations in Vietnam.

Haig and his "blue-suit" crew were deeply involved in engineering and development aspects of the program. They designed essential parts for the Burner boosters, invented magnetic spin-rate control of the satellite, conceived and introduced innovations which greatly reduced the cost of ground stations, and developed simplified tracking software. The precedents established and attitudes generated in Haig's program office persisted long after the military meteorological satellite program was declassified and dubbed the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP).

Typical orbit: 711 km circular orbit, 98.7 deg inclination. Mass: 131 kg (288 lb).

DMSP Block 4A Chronology
  • 1965 January 19 - DMSP-Block-4A F1 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 150 kg (330 lb). Perigee: 462 km (287 mi). Apogee: 833 km (517 mi). Inclination: 98.80 deg. Period: 97.60 min.
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. Launch date was January 18, 1965. The launch was successful and correct orbit was achieved. However, the heat shield on the second stage did not deploy correctly and the mission objectives were not fully realized. This first Burner I bird is distinguishable in photos by its black second stage.

  • 1965 March 18 - DMSP-Block-4A F2 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 130 kg (280 lb). Perigee: 139 km (86 mi). Apogee: 146 km (90 mi). Inclination: 99.00 deg. Period: 87.30 min.
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. A fully successful launch with all objectives met. The night launch time of 2100 hrs Vandenberg time with a 5 minute launch window was the same for both the first and second Burner I launches.

  • 1965 May 20 - DMSP-Block-4A F3 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 130 kg (280 lb). Perigee: 503 km (312 mi). Apogee: 731 km (454 mi). Inclination: 98.10 deg. Period: 97.10 min.
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

  • 1965 September 10 - DMSP-Block-4A F4 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 130 kg (280 lb). Perigee: 635 km (394 mi). Apogee: 993 km (617 mi). Inclination: 98.50 deg. Period: 101.20 min.
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

  • 1966 January 8 - DMSP-Block-4A F5 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. FAILURE: Second stage failed. Mass: 130 kg (280 lb).
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

  • 1966 March 31 - DMSP-Block-4A F6 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 130 kg (280 lb). Perigee: 604 km (375 mi). Apogee: 855 km (531 mi). Inclination: 98.30 deg. Period: 99.40 min.
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

  • 1966 September 16 - DMSP-Block-4A F7 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 125 kg (275 lb). Perigee: 674 km (418 mi). Apogee: 857 km (532 mi). Inclination: 98.30 deg. Period: 100.20 min.
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

  • 1967 February 8 - DMSP-Block-4A F8 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 130 kg (280 lb). Perigee: 771 km (479 mi). Apogee: 846 km (525 mi). Inclination: 99.10 deg. Period: 101.10 min.
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program; lower than planned orbit, but still operational.

  • 1967 August 23 - DMSP-Block-4A F9 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 130 kg (280 lb). Perigee: 818 km (508 mi). Apogee: 873 km (542 mi). Inclination: 98.90 deg. Period: 101.90 min.
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

  • 1967 October 11 - DMSP-Block-4A F10 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 130 kg (280 lb). Perigee: 638 km (396 mi). Apogee: 796 km (494 mi). Inclination: 99.20 deg. Period: 99.10 min.
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

  • 1968 May 23 - DMSP-Block-4A F11 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 130 kg (280 lb). Perigee: 806 km (500 mi). Apogee: 883 km (548 mi). Inclination: 98.90 deg. Period: 101.80 min.
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

  • 1968 October 23 - DMSP-Block-4A F12 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 130 kg (280 lb). Perigee: 783 km (486 mi). Apogee: 828 km (514 mi). Inclination: 98.70 deg. Period: 101.00 min.
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

  • 1969 July 23 - DMSP-Block-4A F13 - Program: DMSP. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC10W. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 130 kg (280 lb). Perigee: 768 km (477 mi). Apogee: 835 km (518 mi). Inclination: 98.80 deg. Period: 100.90 min.
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

Bibliography:

  • McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page (launch records), Harvard University, 1997-present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
  • JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Web Address when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.
  • Bramscher, Robert G, Spaceflight, "A Survey of Launch Vehicle Failures", 1980, Volume 22, page 351.
Contact us with any corrections, additions, or comments.
Conditions for use of drawings, pictures, or other materials from this site..
To contact astronauts or cosmonauts.

© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.