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Credit - USAF
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Class: Technology. Type: Ion engine. Destination: Medium Earth Orbit. Nation: USA. Agency: U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army. Carried SNAP-9A nuclear power source. The on-board reactor provided electrical power for a 2.2-lb ion engine. Typical orbit: 1270 km x 1314 km at 90 degrees inclination. Mass: 440 kg (970 lb).
Snapshot Chronology - 1965 April 3 - Snapshot - Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC4E. Launch Vehicle: Atlas. Mass: 440 kg (970 lb). Perigee: 1,270 km (780 mi). Apogee: 1,314 km (816 mi). Inclination: 90.30 deg. Period: 111.40 min.
Only nuclear reactor ever orbited by the United States. The SNAP-10A reactor provided electrical power for an 8.5 mN ion engine using cesium propellant. The engine was shut off after one hour of operation when high-voltage spikes created electromagnetic interference with the satellite's attitude control system sensors. The reactor continued in operation, generating 39 kWt and more than 500 watts of electrical power for 43 days before the spacecraft telemetry failed.
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.
- Lockheed Martin Coporation, Atlas Family Fact Sheets, September 1998.. Web Address when accessed: http://www.lmco.com/ILS/txtmain/ils_lsysinfo.htm.
- 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.
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