Lofti

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Lofti
Credit - US Navy

Class: Technology. Type: Communications. Destination: Space Station Orbit. Nation: USA. Agency: U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy.

The Low Frequency Trans-Ionospheric (LOFTI) satellites were produced as a cooperative effort with the Radio Division. Launched in 1961 and 1962, LOFTI attempted to determine whether very low frequency (VLF) energy could penetrate through the ionosphere and be received by submerged submarines. The satellites demonstrated that under many ionospheric conditions VLF signals were extremely attenuated and could not be detected, making them unreliable for submarine communication.

Typical orbit: 170 km x 876 km at 70 degrees inclination. Mass: 26 kg (57 lb).

Lofti Chronology

1961 February 22 - Lofti - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: LC17B. Launch Vehicle: Delta.

1963 June 15 - Lofti 2A - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC2E. Launch Vehicle: Delta. Mass: 26 kg (57 lb). Perigee: 170 km (100 mi). Apogee: 876 km (544 mi). Inclination: 69.90 deg. Period: 95.10 min.
VLF experiments. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A).

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.
McDowell, Jonathan, Launch Log, October 1998. Web Address when accessed: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/log/launch.html.

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