Encyclopedia Astronautica
Tacsat

Tacsat Chronology

2006 December 16 - . 12:00 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: Wallops Island LA0B. LV Family: Minotaur. Launch Vehicle: Minotaur 1. LV Configuration: Minotaur 1 6.

Tacsat-2 - . Mass: 370 kg (810 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: AFRL. Manufacturer: MicroSats. Program: Tacsat. Class: Surveillance. Type: Military surveillance satellite. Spacecraft: Tacsat ORS. Decay Date: 2011-02-05 . USAF Sat Cat: 29653 . COSPAR: 2006-058A. Apogee: 426 km (264 mi). Perigee: 410 km (250 mi). Inclination: 40.0100 deg. Period: 92.93 min. Tacsat-2 was a prototype rapid development/rapid deployment tactical military satellite that provided American Joint Task Force commanders direct control of a satellite providing both SIGINT and imagery with a resolution of better than 1-m. The known communications payload used an 8 GHz (X-band) downlink. This was the first orbital launch from Wallops Island since 1985. TacSat-2 was to have been launched by a Falcon-1 from Vandenberg into a sun-synchronous orbit. However, the failure of Falcon-1 on its long-delayed maiden in March 2006 caused AFRL to award a new launch contract for TacSat-2 and TacSat-3 to OSC in May 2006. The launch was achieved using OSC's Minotaur launch vehicle only seven months after contract award.

2009 May 19 - . 23:55 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: Wallops Island LA0B. LV Family: Minotaur. Launch Vehicle: Minotaur 1. LV Configuration: Minotaur 1 s/n 8.

Tacsat 3 - . Mass: 400 kg (880 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Program: Tacsat. Spacecraft: Tacsat ORS. USAF Sat Cat: 35001 . COSPAR: 2009-028A. Apogee: 465 km (288 mi). Perigee: 433 km (269 mi). Inclination: 40.5000 deg. Period: 93.60 min. Summary: USAF experimental imaging satellite..

2011 September 27 - . 15:49 GMT - . Launch Site: Kodiak. LV Family: Minotaur. Launch Vehicle: Minotaur 4. LV Configuration: Minotaur 4+.

Tacsat 4 - . Nation: USA. Program: Tacsat. Class: Communications. Type: Communications satellite. Spacecraft: Tacsat ORS. USAF Sat Cat: 37818 . COSPAR: 2011-052A. Apogee: 12,010 km (7,460 mi). Perigee: 742 km (461 mi). Inclination: 63.6000 deg. Period: 238.90 min. Naval Research Laboratory UHF communications satellite, equipped with a 3.7-meter-diameter communications antenna to support military handheld satellite telephones. Launch used an uprated Minotaur IV with an ATK Star 48V motor replacing the Orion 38 upper stage.