This complex was built for the Atlas/Centaur development program, and it was operated under NASA's sponsorship from that program's inception until the late 1980s. The site was built and occupied as a single launch pad complex in February 1961, but a second pad (36B) was constructed between February 1963 and July 1964. Complex 36 hosted many historic Surveyor, Mariner, Pioneer and Intelsat IV and V missions over the years. Under NASA's sponsorship, Complex 36 supported its first Fleet Satellite Communications (Fltsatcom) launch on 9 February 1978. Six more Fltsatcom missions were launched from the complex over the next decade. Following the Fltsatcom F-8 mission in late September 1989, NASA surrendered Complex 36 to the Air Force and General Dynamics for military and commercial space operations. The site was modified to handled Atlas/Centaur missions, and the first commercial Atlas II/Centaur was launched from Pad 36B on 7 December 1991. The first military Atlas II/Centaur mission was launched from Pad 36A on 11 February 1992. In all, the complex supported 118 major launches between 8 May 1962 and the end of October 1998.

• 1962 May 8 19:49 - Research and development launch Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur LV-3C. Vehicle exploded due to insulation problems on the Atlas.. Atlas Centaur F-1 Apogee: 6.00 km (3.70 mi). First Centaur flight (unsuccessful).

• 1963 November 27 19:03 - Atlas Centaur 2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur LV-3C. Atlas Centaur AC-2 / Centaur D 126D Apogee: 1,478 km (918 mi). Launch vehicle test. Launch vehicle put dummy payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit. First successful Centaur (liquid hydrogen-fueled) flight.

• 1964 June 30 14:04 - Centaur AC-3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur LV-3C. Centaur hydraulics failure.. Atlas Centaur AC-3 / Centaur D 135D Apogee: 500 km (310 mi). Centaur test. Launch vehicle was to have put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit

• 1964 December 11 14:25 - Surveyor SD-1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur LV-3C. Atlas Centaur AC-4 / Centaur D 146D Apogee: 178 km (110 mi). Launch vehicle test. Centaur AC-4 put dummy Surveyor payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit

• 1965 March 2 13:25 - Surveyor SD-1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur LV-3C. Failure. Atlas Centaur AC-5 / Centaur D 156D Launch vehicle test. Launch vehicle was to have put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit

• 1965 August 11 14:31 - Surveyor; Atlas Centaur 6 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur LV-3C. Atlas Centaur D AC-6 / Centaur D 151D Centaur AC-6 launched dummy Surveyor payload into a barycentric / translunar orbit.

• 1966 April 8 01:00 - Surveyor Model Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur LV-3C. Centaur propellant leak.. Atlas Centaur D AC-8 / Centaur D 184D Apogee: 336 km (208 mi). Launch vehicle test. Payload was dummy Surveyor spacecraft.

• 1966 May 30 14:41 - Surveyor 1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur LV-3C. Atlas Centaur D AC-10 / Centaur D 290D Surveyor 1 soft landed on the moon in the Ocean of Storms and began transmitting the first of more than 11,150 clear, detailed television pictures to Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Deep Space Facility, Goldstone, Calif. The landing sequence began 3,200 kilometers above the moon with the spacecraft traveling at a speed of 9,700 kilometers per hour. The spacecraft was successfully slowed to 5.6 kilometers per hour by the time it reached 4-meter altitude and then free-fell to the surface at 13 kilometers per hour. The landing was so precise that the three footpads touched the surface within 19 milliseconds of each other, and it confirmed that the lunar surface could support the LM. It was the first U.S. attempt to soft land on the moon.

• 1966 September 20 12:32 - Surveyor 2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur LV-3C. Atlas Centaur D AC-7 / Centaur D 194D Soft lunar landing attempt failed. Surveyor II was launched from Cape Kennedy at 8:32 a.m. EDT. The Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle placed the spacecraft on a nearly perfect lunar intercept trajectory that would have missed the aim point by about 130 kilometers. Following injection, the spacecraft successfully accomplished all required sequences up to the midcourse thrust phase. This phase was not successful because of the failure of one of the three vernier engines to ignite, causing eventual loss of the mission. Contact with the spacecraft was lost at 5:35 a.m. EDT, September 22, and impact on the lunar surface was predicted at 11:18 p.m. on that day.

• 1966 October 26 11:12 - Surveyor SD-4 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur LV-3C. Atlas Centaur D AC-9 / Centaur D 174D Apogee: 406,200 km (252,400 mi). Launch vehicle test. Centaur D AC-9 put Surveyor spacecraft payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit

• 1967 April 17 07:05 - Surveyor 3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur LV-3C. Atlas Centaur D AC-12 / Centaur D 292D Soft landed on Moon; perrformed soil sample tests and imaged lunar surface.

• 1967 July 14 11:53 - Surveyor 4 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur LV-3C. Atlas Centaur D AC-11 / Centaur D 291D Soft lunar landing attempt failed.

• 1967 September 8 07:57 - Surveyor 5 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-13 / Centaur D-1A 5901C Soft lunar landing; returned 19,000 photos, soil data.

• 1967 November 7 07:39 - Surveyor 6 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-14 / Centaur D-1A 5902C Soft landed on lunar Moon; photographed lunar surface; sampled lunar soil; used propulsion system to briefly lift off of lunar surface.

• 1968 January 7 06:30 - Surveyor 7 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-15 / Centaur D-1A 5903C Soft landed on lunar Moon; photographed lunar surface; sampled lunar soil.

• 1968 August 10 22:33 - ATS 4 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. Centaur oxidizer leak. No restart.. SLV-3C Centaur AC-17 / Centaur D-1A 5104C Apogee: 769 km (477 mi). Applications Technology Satellite that was to have been put into a geosynchronous transfer orbit, instead was left in a nearly-useless LEO orbit. ATS-4 included two cesium contact ion engines. Flight test objectives were to measure thrust and to examine electromagnetic compatibility with other spacecraft subsystems. The 5 cm diameter thrusters were designed to operate at 0.02 kW and provide about 89 microN thrust at about 6700 s specific impulse. The thrusters had the capability to operate at 5 setpoints from 18 to 89 microN. Thrusters were configured so they could be used for East-West station-keeping. Prior to launch, a 5 cm cesium thruster was life tested for 2245 hours at the 67 microN thrust level. However the Centaur upper stage did not achieve a second burn and the spacecraft remained attached to the Centaur in a 218 km by 760 km orbit. It was estimated that the pressure at these altitudes was between 10^-6 and 10^-8 Torr. Each of the two engines was tested on at least two occasions each over the throttling range. Combined test time of the two engines was about 10 hours over a 55 day period. The spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere on October 17, 1968. TheATS-4 flight was the first successful orbital test of an ion engine. There was no evidence of IPS electromagnetic interference related to spacecraft subsystems. Measured values of neutralizer emission current were much less than the ion beam current, implying inadequate neutralization. The spacecraft potential was about -132V which was much different than the anticipated value of about -40V.

• 1968 December 7 08:40 - OAO 2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-16 / Centaur D-1A 5002C Apogee: 758 km (470 mi). Orbiting Astronomical Observatory; carried 11 telescopes; performed X-ray, UV, IR observations of stars. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit

• 1969 February 25 01:29 - Mariner 6 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-20 / Centaur D-1A 5403C Mars flyby 31 July 1969; returned 75 images of Martian surface. Ten days before the scheduled launch, a faulty switch opened the main valves on the Atlas stage. This released the pressure which supported the Atlas structure, and as the booster deflated it began to crumple. Two ground crewman started pressurizing pumps, saving the structure from further collapse. The two ground crewman, who had acted at risk of the 12-story rocket collapsing on them, were awarded Exceptional Bravery Medals from NASA.

  The Mariner 6 spacecraft was removed, put on another Atlas/Centaur, and launched on schedule. The main booster was jettisoned 4 min. 38 sec. after launch, followed by a 7.5 minute Centaur burn to inject the spacecraft into Mars direct trajectory. After Mariner 6 separated from the Centaur the solar panels were deployed. A midcourse correction involving a 5.35 second burn of the hydrazine rocket occurred on 1 March 1969. A few days later explosive valves were deployed to unlatch the scan platform. Some bright particles released during the explosion distracted the Canopus sensor, and attitude lock was lost temporarily. It was decided to place the spacecraft on inertial guidance for the Mars flyby to prevent a similar occurrence.

  On 29 July, 50 hours before closest approach, the scan platform was pointed to Mars and the scientific instruments turned on. Imaging of Mars began 2 hours later. For the next 41 hours, 49 approach images (plus a 50th fractional image) of Mars were taken through the narrow-angle camera. At 05:03 UT on 31 July the near-encounter phase began, including collection of 26 close-up images. Due to a cooling system failure, channel 1 of the IR spectrometer did not cool sufficiently to allow measurements from 6 to 14 micrometers so no infrared data were obtained over this range. Closest approach occurred at 05:19:07 UT at a distance of 3431 km from the martian surface. Eleven minutes later Mariner 6 passed behind Mars and reappeared after 25 minutes. X-band occultation data were taken during the entrance and exit phases. Science and imaging data were played back and transmitted over the next few days. The spacecraft was then returned to cruise mode which included engineering and communications tests, star photography TV tests, and UV scans of the Milky Way and an area containing comet 1969-B. Periodic tracking of the spacecraft in its heliocentric orbit was also done.

  Science Results

  Mariner 6 returned 49 far encounter and 26 near encounter images of Mars. Close-ups from the near encounter phases covered 20% of the surface. The spacecraft instruments measured UV and IR emissions and radio refractivity of the Martian atmosphere. Images showed the surface of Mars to be very different from that of the Moon, in some contrast to the results from Mariner 4. The south polar cap was identified as being composed predominantly of carbon dioxide. Atmospheric surface pressure was estimated at between 6 and 7 mb. Radio science refined estimates of the mass, radius and shape of Mars.

• 1969 March 27 22:22 - Mariner 7 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-19 / Centaur D-1A 5105C Mars flyby 5 August 1969; returned 126 images of Martian surface. Mariner 7 was launched on a direct-ascent trajectory to Mars 31 days after Mariner 6. On 8 April 1969 a midcourse correction was made by firing the hydrazine moter for 7.6 seconds. On 8 May Mariner 7 was put on gyro control to avoid attitude control problems which were affecting Mariner 6. On 31 July telemetry from Mariner 7 was suddenly lost and the spacecraft was commanded to switch to the low-gain antenna. It was later successfully switched back to the high-gain antenna. It was thought that leaking gases, perhaps from the battery which later failed a few days before encounter, had caused the anomaly.

  At 09:32:33 GMT on 2 August 1969 Mariner 7 bagan the far-encounter sequence involving imaging of Mars with the narrow angle camera. Over the next 57 hours, ending about 5 hours before closest approach, 93 images of Mars were taken and transmitted. The spacecraft was reprogrammed as a result of analysis of Mariner 6 images. The new sequence called for the spacecraft to go further south than originally planned, take more near-encounter pictures, and collect more scientific data on the lighted side of Mars. Data from the dark side of Mars were to be transmitted directly back to Earth but there would be no room on the digital recorder for backup due to the added dayside data. At closest approach, 05:00:49 GMT on 5 August, Mariner 7 was 3430 km above the martian surface. Over this period, 33 near-encounter images were taken. About 19 minutes after the flyby, the spacecraft went behind Mars and emerged roughly 30 minutes later. X-band occultation data were taken during the entrance and exit phases. Science and imaging data were played back and transmitted over the next few days. The spacecraft was then returned to cruise mode which included engineering and communications tests, star photography TV tests, and UV scans of the Milky Way and an area containing comet 1969-B. Periodic tracking of the spacecraft in its heliocentric orbit was also done.

  Science Results

  The total data return for Mariners 6 and 7 was 800 million bits. Mariner 7 returned 93 far and 33 near encounter images. Close-ups from the near encounter phases covered 20% of the surface. The spacecraft instruments measured UV and IR emissions and radio refractivity of the Martian atmosphere. Images showed the surface of Mars to be very different from that of the Moon, in some contrast to the results from Mariner 4. The south polar cap was identified as being composed predominantly of carbon dioxide. Atmospheric surface pressure was estimated at between 6 and 7 mb. Radio science refined estimates of the mass, radius and shape of Mars.

• 1969 August 12 11:01 - ATS 5 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-18 / Centaur D-1A 5402C Apogee: 36,024 km (22,384 mi). Applications Technology Satellite; communications tests. Launch vehicle successfully put the payload into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The spacecraft maneuvered into geostationary orbit at 108 degrees W. The purpose of this flight was to demonstrate North-South Stationkeeping of a geosynchronous satellite. ATS-5 was equipped with an ion engine package identical to that on ATS-4. Once in geosynchronous orbit the spacecraft could not be despun as planned, and thus the spacecraft gravity gradient stabilization could not be implemented. The spacecraft spin rate was about 76 revolutions per minute, and this caused an effective 4g acceleration on the cesium feed system. The high g-loading on the cesium feed system caused flooding of the discharge chamber, and normal operation of the thruster with ion beam extraction could not be performed. The IPS was instead be operated as a neutral plasma source, without high-voltage ion extraction, along with the wire neutralizer to examine spacecraft charging effects. The neutralizer was also operated by itself to provide electron injection for the spacecraft charging experiments. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Americas at 105 deg W in 1969-1977; over the Americas at 70 deg W in 1977-1983. As of 1 September 2001 located at 15.48 deg E drifting at 2.807 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 111.70E drifting at 2.819W degrees per day.

• 1970 November 30 22:40 - OAO-B Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. Shroud failed to separate.. SLV-3C Centaur AC-21 / Centaur D-1A 5003C Orbiting Astronomical Observatory. Launch vehicle was to have put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit

• 1971 January 26 00:36 - Intelsat 4 F-2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-25 / Centaur D-1A 5005C Apogee: 36,236 km (22,515 mi). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit; the satellite performed the apogee burn and positioned itself in geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean at 24.5 deg W. Subsequently at 23 deg W in 1971-1975; over the Atlantic Ocean 1-6 deg W in 1976-1980; over the Atlantic Ocean 0-5 deg E in 1980-1983. As of 3 September 2001 at 31.91 deg E drifting at 5.168 deg W per day. As of 2006 Dec 18 located at 133.93E drifting at 5.166W degrees per day. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C).

• 1971 May 9 01:11 - Mariner H Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. Inadvertent Centaur electronic signal shut down stage early.. SLV-3C Centaur AC-24 / Centaur D-1A 5405C Intended Mars flyby.

• 1971 May 30 22:23 - Mariner 9 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-23 / Centaur D-1A 5404C The first spacecraft to orbit another planet. The Mariner Mars 71 mission was planned to consist of two spacecraft on complementary missions. Mariner 8 was to map 70 % of the Martian surface and Mariner 9 was to study temporal changes in the Martian atmosphere and on the Martian surface. The launch failure of Mariner 8 forced Mariner 9 to combine the mission objectives of both. For the survey portion of the mission, the planetary surface was to be mapped with the same resolution as planned for the original mission, although the resolution of pictures of the polar regions would be decreased due to the increased slant range. The variable features experiments were changed from studies of six given areas every 5 days to studies of smaller regions every 17 days. Mariner 9 was launched on a direct trajectory to Mars. Separation from the booster occurred at 22:36 GMT. The four solar panels were deployed at 22:40 GMT. The sensors locked onto the Sun at 23:16, shortly after the spacecraft left the Earth's shadow and Canopus acquisition was achieved at 02:26 GMT 31 May. A planned midcourse maneuver was executed on 5 June. Mariner 9 arrived at Mars on 14 November 1971 after a 167 day flight. A 15 minute 23 second rocket burn put the spacecraft into Mars orbit. The insertion orbit had a periapsis of 1398 km and a period of 12 hr, 34 min. Two days later a 6 second rocket burn changed the orbital period to just under 12 hours with a periapsis of 1387 km. A correction trim maneuver was made on 30 December on the 94th orbit which raised the periapsis to 1650 km and changed the orbital period to 11:59:28 so that synchronous data transmissions could be made to the Goldstone 64-m DSN antenna.

  Imaging of the surface of Mars by Mariner 9 was delayed by a dust storm which started on 22 September 1971 in the Noachis region. The storm quickly grew into one of the largest global storms ever observed on Mars. By the time the spacecraft arrived at Mars no surface details could be seen except the summits of Olympus Mons and the three Tharsis volcanoes. The storm abated through November and December and normal mapping operations began. The spacecraft gathered data on the atmospheric composition, density, pressure, and temperature and also the surface composition, temperature, gravity, and topography of Mars. A total of 54 billion bits of scientific data were returned, including 7329 images covering the entire planet. After depleting its supply of attitude control gas, the spacecraft was turned off on 27 October 1972. Mariner 9 was left in an orbit which should not decay for at least 50 years, after which the spacecraft will enter the Martian atmosphere.

  The Mariner 9 mission resulted in a global mapping of the surface of Mars, including the first detailed views of the martian volcanoes, Valles Marineris, the polar caps, and the satellites Phobos and Deimos. It also provided information on global dust storms, the gravity field as well as evidence for surface aeolian activity.

• 1971 December 20 01:10 - Intelsat 4 F-3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-26 / Centaur D-1A 5006C Apogee: 36,009 km (22,374 mi). Over Atlantic. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean at 20-25 deg W in 1972-1976; over the Atlantic Ocean 34 deg W in 1976-1977; over the Atlantic Ocean 18-22 deg W in 1977-1980; over the Atlantic Ocean 53 deg W in 1981-1982; over the Atlantic Ocean 38-44 deg W in 1982-1983 As of 4 September 2001 located at 90.58 deg E drifting at 2.365 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 54.69E drifting at 2.365W degrees per day.

• 1972 January 23 00:12 - Intelsat 4 F-4 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-28 / Centaur D-1A 5008C Apogee: 35,917 km (22,317 mi). Over Pacific. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Pacific Ocean at 174 deg E in 1972-1974; over the Pacific Ocean 179 deg E in 1975-1982; over the Atlantic Ocean 1 deg W in 1982-1983 As of 28 August 2001 located at 178.00 deg E drifting at 1.569 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 7 located at 155.84W drifting at 1.593W degrees per day.

• 1972 March 3 01:49 - Pioneer 10 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-27 / Centaur D-1A 5007C Jupiter flyby December 1973; first man-made object to leave solar system. The spacecraft achieved its closest approach to Jupiter on December 3, 1973, when it reached approximately 2.8 Jovian radii (about 200,000 km). As of Jan. 1, 1997 Pioneer 10 was at about 67 AU from the Sun near the ecliptic plane and heading outward from the Sun at 2.6 AU/year and downstream through the heliomagnetosphere towards the tail region and interstellar space.

• 1972 June 13 21:53 - Intelsat 4 F-5 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-29 / Centaur D-1A 5009C Apogee: 35,847 km (22,274 mi). Over Indian Ocean. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Indian Ocean at 61 deg E in 1972-1975; over the Indian Ocean 60 deg E in 1976-1980; over the Pacific Ocean 179 deg E in 1980-1981 As of 2 September 2001 located at 8.61 deg E drifting at 0.536 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 73.10W drifting at 0.625W degrees per day.

• 1972 August 21 10:28 - OAO 3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3C. SLV-3C Centaur AC-22 / Centaur D-1A 5004C Apogee: 724 km (449 mi). UV observations of stellar objects. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit

• 1973 April 6 02:11 - Pioneer 11 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-30 / Centaur D-1AR 5011D Jupiter flyby December 1974; Saturn flyby September 1979. Solar system escape trajectory. Pioneer 11 was the second mission to investigate Jupiter and the outer solar system and the first to explore the planet Saturn and its main rings. Pioneer 11, like Pioneer 10, used Jupiter's gravitational field to alter its trajectory radically. It passed close to Saturn and then it followed an escape trajectory from the solar system. During its closest approach, December 4, 1974, Pioneer 11 passed to within 34,000 km of Jupiter's cloud tops. It passed by Saturn on September 1, 1979, at a distance of 21,000 km from Saturn's cloud tops. The spacecraft has operated on a backup transmitter since launch. Instrument power sharing began in February 1985 due to declining RTG power output. Science operations and daily telemetry ceased on September 30, 1995 when the RTG power level was insufficient to operate any experiments. As of the end of 1995 the spacecraft was located at 44.7 AU from the Sun at a nearly asymptotic latitude of 17.4 degrees above the solar equatorial plane and was heading outward at 2.5 AU/year. Routine tracking and project data processing operations were terminated on March 31, 1997 for budget reasons.

• 1973 August 23 22:57 - Intelsat 4 F-7 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-31 / Centaur D-1AR 5010D Apogee: 36,132 km (22,451 mi). Over Atlantic Ocean. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean at 30 deg W in 1973-1976 over the Atlantic Ocean 1 deg W in 1976-1980; over the Indian Ocean 56 deg E in 1980-1981; over the Pacific Ocean179 deg E in 1981-1982; over the Atlantic Ocean 53 deg W in 1982-1983 As of 31 August 2001 located at 74.52 deg W drifting at 4.067 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 19.61E drifting at 4.058W degrees per day.

• 1973 November 3 05:45 - Mariner 10 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-34 / Centaur D-1AR 5014D Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to reach Mercury. Mariner 10 was placed in a parking orbit for 25 minutes after launch, then accelerated to a trans-Venus escape trajectory. The television and ultraviolet experiments were trained on the comet Kohoutek while the spacecraft was en route to its destination. The vehicle's first planetary encounter was with Venus on February 5, 1974, at a distance of 4200 km. Mariner 10 took 4,000 photos of Venus, which revealed a nearly round planet enveloped in smooth cloud layers. The gravity of Venus bent the orbit of the spacecraft and sent it towards Mercury. It crossed the orbit of Mercury on March 29, 1974, at 20:46 GMT, at a distance of 704 km from the surface. Photographs taken during the pass revealed an intensely cratered, Moon-like surface and a faint atmosphere of mostly helium. After the first flyby, Mariner 10 entered solar orbit, which permitted two more rendezvous with Mercury. On September 21, 1974, the second Mercury rendezvous, at an altitude of about 47,000 km, provided another opportunity to photograph the sunlit side of the planet and the south polar region. The third and final Mercury encounter on March 16, 1975, at an altitude of 327 km, yielded 300 photographs and magnetic field measurements. The vehicle was turned off March 24, 1975 when the supply of attitude-control gas was depleted.

• 1974 November 21 23:43 - Intelsat 4 F-8 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-32 / Centaur D-1AR 5012D Apogee: 35,944 km (22,334 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Pacific Ocean at 174 deg E in 1974-1982; over the Pacific Ocean 179 deg E in 1982; over the Atlantic Ocean 1 deg W in 1983-1985 As of 1 September 2001 located at 139.80 deg W drifting at 1.762 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 61.11W drifting at 1.754W degrees per day.

• 1975 February 20 23:35 - Intelsat 4 F-6 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. Staging electrical disconnect.. SLV-3D Centaur AC-33 / Centaur D-1AR 5015D Staging electrical disconnect. Launch vehicle was to have put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit

• 1975 May 22 22:04 - Intelsat 4 F-1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-35 / Centaur D-1AR 5018D Apogee: 36,128 km (22,448 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Indian Ocean at 63 deg E in 1976-1978; over the Atlantic Ocean 17.0 deg W in 1978; over the Atlantic Ocean 18.5 deg W in 1979-1981; over the Pacific Ocean 174 deg E in 1982; over the Atlantic Ocean 53 deg W in 1983-1984; over the Atlantic Ocean 50 deg W in 1984-1987 As of 30 August 2001 located at 111.08 deg W drifting at 3.657 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 95.13E drifting at 3.657W degrees per day.

• 1975 September 26 00:17 - Intelsat 4A F-1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-36 / Centaur D-1AR 5016 Apogee: 35,910 km (22,310 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean at 25 deg W in 1975-1981; over the Atlantic Ocean 18.5 deg W in 1982-1983; over the Atlantic Ocean 30 deg W in 1983-1986 As of 30 August 2001 located at 4.05 deg E drifting at 1.213 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 28.51E drifting at 1.239W degrees per day.

• 1976 January 29 23:56 - Intelsat 4A F-2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-37 / Centaur D-1AR 501 Apogee: 35,981 km (22,357 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean at 29.5 deg W in 1976-79; over the Atlantic Ocean 27.5 deg W in 1979-1980; over the Atlantic Ocean 21.5 deg W in 1980-1983; over the Indian Ocean 57 deg E in 1983-1984; over the Atlantic Ocean 2-4 deg W in 1984-1985 As of 3 September 2001 located at 151.88 deg E drifting at 2.088 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 130.98W drifting at 2.123W degrees per day.

• 1976 May 13 22:28 - Comstar 1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-38 / Centaur D-1AR 5020 Apogee: 35,925 km (22,322 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Americas at 128 deg W in 1976-1981 over the Americas at 95 deg W in 1981-1983 over the Atlantic Ocean 76 deg W in 1983-1984 As of 4 September 2001 located at 48.64 deg E drifting at 1.641 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 31.21E drifting at 1.624W degrees per day.

• 1976 July 22 22:04 - Comstar 2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-40 / Centaur D-1AR 5022 Apogee: 35,887 km (22,299 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Americas at 95 deg W in 1976-1983 over the Americas at 76 deg W in 1983-1993 As of 28 August 2001 located at 172.63 deg W drifting at 1.031 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 150.18W drifting at 1.064W degrees per day.

• 1977 May 26 21:47 - Intelsat 4A F-4 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-39 / Centaur D-1AR 5019 Apogee: 36,075 km (22,415 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean at 34.5 deg W in 1977-1983 over the Atlantic Ocean 21.5 deg W in 1983-1989 As of 28 August 2001 located at 153.30 deg E drifting at 2.976 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 121.69W drifting at 3.003W degrees per day.

• 1977 August 12 06:29 - HEAO 1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-45 / Centaur D-1AR 5025 Apogee: 447 km (277 mi). High Energy Astronomical Observatory; surveyed sky in X-ray band. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B).

• 1977 September 30 01:02 - Intelsat IVA F-5 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. Atlas failure - gas generator hot gas leak.. SLV-3D Centaur AC-43 / Centaur D-1AR 5701

• 1978 January 7 00:15 - Intelsat 4A F-3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-46 / Centaur-D1AR AC-46 Apogee: 35,909 km (22,312 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Indian Ocean at 60 deg E in 1978-1982 over the Pacific Ocean 179 deg E in 1982-1986 over the Pacific Ocean 177 deg E in 1986-1988 As of 2 September 2001 located at 156.51 deg W drifting at 1.304 deg W per day. As of 2007 Feb 27 located at 107.90E drifting at 1.326W degrees per day.

• 1978 February 9 21:17 - Fltsatcom 1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-44 / Centaur D-1AR 5024 Apogee: 36,170 km (22,470 mi). Fleet Satellite Communications. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Americas at 100 deg W in 1978-1987; over the Pacific Ocean 177 deg W in 1987-1992; over the Atlantic Ocean 15 deg W in 1992-1996;over the Indian Ocean 72 deg E in 1996-2001. Last known longitude (26 July 1999) 71.17 deg E drifting at 0.004 deg W per day.

• 1978 March 31 23:36 - Intelsat 4A F-6 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-48 / Centaur D-1AR 5028 Apogee: 35,823 km (22,259 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Indian Ocean at 63 deg E in 1978-1982; over the Pacific Ocean 174 deg E in 1982-1986; over the Pacific Ocean 170 deg E in 1986 As of 26 August 2001 located at 92.43 deg E drifting at 0.407 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 75.50E drifting at 0.437W degrees per day.

• 1978 May 20 13:13 - Pioneer Venus Orbiter Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-50 / Centaur D-1AR 5030 The Pioneer Venus Orbiter was inserted into an elliptical orbit around Venus on December 4, 1978. After entering orbit around Venus in 1978, the spacecraft returned global maps of the planet's clouds, atmosphere and ionosphere, measurements of the atmosphere-solar wind interaction, and radar maps of 93 percent of the planet's surface. Additionally, the vehicle made use of several opportunities to make systematic UV observations of several comets. From Venus orbit insertion to July 1980, periapsis was held between 142 and 253 km (at 17 degrees north latitude) to facilitate radar and ionospheric measurements. The spacecraft was in a 24 hour orbit with an apoapsis of 66,900 km. Thereafter, the periapsis was allowed to rise (to 2290 km at maximum) and then fall, to conserve fuel. In 1991 the Radar Mapper was reactivated to investigate previously inaccessible southern portions of the planet. In May 1992 Pioneer Venus began the final phase of its mission, in which the periapsis was held between 150 and 250 km until the fuel ran out and atmospheric entry destroyed the spacecraft. With a planned primary mission duration of only eight months, the spacecraft remained in operation until October 8, 1992 when it finally burned up in Venus' atmosphere after running out of propellant.

• 1978 June 29 22:24 - Comstar 3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-41 / Centaur D-1AR 5021 Apogee: 36,172 km (22,476 mi). US domestic telephone service. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Americas at 87 deg W in 1978-1984 over the Americas at 76 deg W in 1984-1986 As of 1 September 2001 located at 101.79 deg W drifting at 3.884 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 4 located at 39.19E drifting at 3.878W degrees per day.

• 1978 August 8 07:33 - Pioneer Venus 2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-51 / Centaur D-1AR 5031 The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe consisted of a bus which carried one large and three small `atmospheric probes. The large probe was released on November 16, 1978 and the three small probes on November 20. All four probes entered the Venus atmosphere on December 9, followed by the bus. The small probes were each targeted at different parts of the planet and were named accordingly. The North probe entered the atmosphere at about 60 degrees north latitude on the day side. The night probe entered on the night side. The day probe entered well into the day side, and was the only one of the four probes which continued to send radio signals back after impact, for over an hour. With no heat shield or parachute, the bus survived and made measurements only to about 110 km altitude before burning up. It afforded the only direct view of the upper Venus atmosphere, as the probes did not begin making direct measurements until they had decelerated lower in the atmosphere.

• 1978 November 13 05:24 - HEAO 2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-52 / Centaur D-1AR 5032 Apogee: 548 km (340 mi). High Energy Astronomy Observatory. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C).

• 1979 May 4 18:56 - Fltsatcom 2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-47 / Centaur D-1AR 5027 Apogee: 36,331 km (22,574 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 23 deg W in 1979-1980; 72 deg E in 1980-1992 As of 5 September 2001 located at 90.48 deg W drifting at 6.234 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 12.01W drifting at 6.223W degrees per day.

• 1979 September 20 05:28 - HEAO 3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-53 / Centaur D-1AR 5033 Apogee: 503 km (312 mi). High Energy Astronomy Observatory; cosmic, gamma ray measurements. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C).

• 1980 January 18 01:26 - Fltsatcom 3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-49 / Centaur D-1AR 5029 Apogee: 35,851 km (22,276 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 22 deg W in 1980-1990 As of 28 August 2001 located at 174.83 deg W drifting at 0.082 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 84.20W drifting at 0.376E degrees per day.

• 1980 October 31 03:54 - Fltsatcom 4 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-57 / Centaur D-1AR 5037 Apogee: 35,803 km (22,246 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 171 deg E from 1981. Last known longitude (25 July 1999) 172.61 deg E drifting at 0.001 deg W per day.

• 1980 December 6 23:31 - Intelsat 5 F-2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-54 / Centaur D-1AR 5034 Apogee: 36,242 km (22,519 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 21 deg W in 1981; 27 deg W in 1981-1983; 34 deg W in 1983-1985; 27 deg W in 1985; 1 deg W in 1985-1989; 21 deg W in 1989-1994; 40 deg W in 1994-1998 As of 2 September 2001 located at 103.82 deg W drifting at 5.004 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 81.84W drifting at 5.000W degrees per day.

• 1981 February 21 23:23 - Comstar 4 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-42 / Centaur D-1AR 5023 Apogee: 35,792 km (22,240 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 142 deg W in 1981; 127 deg W in 1981-1985; 76 deg W in 1985-on. As of 31 August 2001 located at 25.65 deg W drifting at 1.067 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 78.95E drifting at 0.039W degrees per day.

• 1981 May 23 22:42 - Intelsat 5 F-1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-56 / Centaur D-1AR 5036 Apogee: 36,224 km (22,508 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 24 deg W in 1981; 60 deg E in 1982-1984; 57 deg E in 1984-1986; 174 deg E in 1986-1988; 177 deg E in 1988-1990; 177 deg W in 1990-1992; 91 deg E in 1993-1996; 72 deg E in 1996-1997 As of 4 September 2001 located at 169.69 deg W drifting at 5.095 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 13.28E drifting at 5.096W degrees per day.

• 1981 August 6 08:16 - Fltsatcom 5 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. Failure of the fiberglass fairing during ascent.. SLV-3D Centaur AC-59 / Centaur D-1AR 5039 Apogee: 36,300 km (22,500 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The Atlas G Centaur delivered a badly damaged but operating FLTSATCOM spacecraft to its correct orbit. Investigation showed that the most likely cause was failure of the fiberglass fairing during ascent. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 90 deg W in 1981; 90-114 deg W in 1982; 44 deg W in 1982-1986 As of 5 September 2001 located at 140.32 deg W drifting at 6.003 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 31.85E drifting at 6.002W degrees per day.

• 1981 December 15 23:35 - Intelsat 5 F-3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-55 / Centaur D-1AR 5035 Apogee: 36,129 km (22,449 mi). Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 24 deg W in 1982-1985; 27 deg W in 1985; 53 deg W in 1985-1988; 174 deg E in 1988-1990; 177 deg E in 1990-1992; 177 deg W in 1992-1995; 157 deg E in 1995-1998 As of 5 September 2001 located at 57.52 deg W drifting at 2.890 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 101.94W drifting at 2.904W degrees per day.

• 1982 March 5 00:23 - Intelsat 5 F-4 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-58 / Centaur D-1AR 5038 Apogee: 36,243 km (22,520 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 32 deg E in 1982; 63 deg E in 1982; 27 deg W in 1983-1985; 34 deg W in 1985-1992; 40 deg W in 1992; 31 deg W in 1993-1995; 29 deg W in 1995 As of 1 September 2001 located at 4.64 deg W drifting at 3.747 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 7 located at 4.34W drifting at 3.748W degrees per day.

• 1982 September 28 23:17 - Intelsat 5 F-5 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-60 / Centaur D-1AR 5040 Apogee: 36,404 km (22,620 mi). Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 63 deg E in 1982-1990; 66 deg E in 1991-1996; 33 deg E in 1996; 72 deg E in 1997-on. As of 3 September 2001 located at 16.28 deg E drifting at 6.707 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 163.88W drifting at 6.709W degrees per day.

• 1983 May 19 22:26 - Intelsat 5 F-6 Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur SLV-3D. SLV-3D Centaur AC-61 / Centaur D-1AR 5041 Apogee: 36,125 km (22,446 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 29 deg E in 1983; 18 deg W in 1983-1992; 34 deg W in 1992; 50 deg W in 1992-1995; 31 deg W in 1995-1998 As of 4 September 2001 located at 47.96 deg E drifting at 3.999 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 62.15W drifting at 3.995W degrees per day.

• 1984 June 9 23:03 - Intelsat 5 F-9 Launch Vehicle: Atlas G. Centaur structural failure. . Atlas G Centaur AC-62 / Centaur D-1AR 5042G Apogee: 1,227 km (762 mi). Failure of Centaur upper stage left stranded in useless orbit. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle was to have put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit

• 1985 March 22 23:58 - Intelsat 5A F-10 Launch Vehicle: Atlas G. Atlas G Centaur AC-63 / Centaur D-1AR 5043G Apogee: 36,468 km (22,660 mi). Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 24 deg W in 1985-1990; 174 deg E in 1990-1994; 66 deg E in 1994-1995; 57 deg E in 1995-1996; 33 deg E in 1996-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 135.23 deg W drifting at 7.152 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 107.21W drifting at 7.157W degrees per day.

• 1985 June 30 00:44 - Intelsat 5A F-11 Launch Vehicle: Atlas G. Atlas G Centaur AC-64 / Centaur D-1AR 5044G Apogee: 35,799 km (22,244 mi). Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 27 deg W in 1985-1990; 63 deg E in 1990-1992; 177 deg E in 1992-1994; 180 deg E in 1994-1997; 29 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 4 September 2001 located at 29.54 deg W drifting at 0.005 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 113.07W drifting at 0.696W degrees per day.

• 1985 September 28 23:36 - Intelsat 5A F-12 Launch Vehicle: Atlas G. Atlas G Centaur AC-65 / Centaur D-1AR 5045G Apogee: 36,140 km (22,450 mi). Telephone communications; 31 deg E. Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 60 deg E in 1985-1989; 1 deg W in 1989-1994; 21 deg W in 1994-1996; 56 deg W in 1996-1998 As of 28 August 2001 located at 145.57 deg E drifting at 4.159 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 19.14E drifting at 4.163W degrees per day.

• 1986 December 5 02:30 - USA 20 Launch Vehicle: Atlas G. Atlas G Centaur AC-66 / Centaur D-1AR 5046G Apogee: 35,832 km (22,264 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 100 deg W in 1987-1999 Last known longitude (27 July 1999) 100.33 deg W drifting at 0.027 deg W per day.

• 1987 March 26 21:22 - Fltsatcom 6 Launch Vehicle: Atlas G. Lightning strike zapped guidance at T+51 seconds. Fault was directly attributed to a random memory upset that forced rocket to veer off course. Destroyed by range safety.. Atlas G Centaur AC-67 / Centaur D-1AR 5048G

• 1989 September 25 08:41 - USA 46 Launch Vehicle: Atlas G. Atlas G Centaur AC-68 / Centaur D-1AR 5047G Apogee: 35,797 km (22,243 mi). Last in series of 8. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 23 deg W in 1989-1999.

• 1990 July 25 19:21 - CRRES Launch Vehicle: Atlas I. Atlas I AC-69 / Centaur I 5049 Apogee: 34,739 km (21,585 mi). Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite. First launch of commercial Atlas-Centaur. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space. Elliptical orbit; MRS trajectory.

• 1991 April 18 23:30 - Yuri 3H Launch Vehicle: Atlas I. RL-10 Centaur engine turbopump failed at T+361 seconds; destroyed by range safety.. Atlas I AC-70 Apogee: 175 km (108 mi).

• 1991 December 7 22:47 - Eutelsat II F3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas II. Atlas II AC-102 / Centaur II 8102 Apogee: 35,802 km (22,246 mi). Stationed at 16 deg E. Telecommunications satellite. French registration 1991-8. Transfer orbit was 663 min, 200 x 36000 km x 7.0 deg. Registered by France in ST/SG/SER.E/249 until EUTELSAT can register the satellite. EUTELSAT is the European Telecommunications Satellite Organi zation. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 16 deg E in 1992-1998; 36 deg E in 1999. As of 1 September 2001 located at 21.51 deg E drifting at 0.017 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 74.40E drifting at 3.531W degrees per day.

• 1992 February 11 00:41 - USA 78 Launch Vehicle: Atlas II. Atlas II AC-101 / Centaur II 8101 Apogee: 35,503 km (22,060 mi). Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with GCS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit; at 135 deg W in 1995.

• 1992 March 14 00:00 - Galaxy 5 Launch Vehicle: Atlas I. Atlas I AC-72 / Centaur I 5052 Apogee: 35,790 km (22,230 mi). Geostationary at 125 deg W. Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with GCS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 125 deg W in 1992-2001. As of 2007 Mar 8 located at 7.46E drifting at 3.538W degrees per day.

• 1992 June 10 00:00 - Intelsat K Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-105 / Centaur II 8105 Apogee: 35,793 km (22,240 mi). Stationed at 21.5 deg W. Intelsat K is a single spacecraft purchased to meet critical requirements for Ku-band capacity over the Atlantic region, driven primarily by international broadcasters. The satellite was purchased from GE Americom while under construction (as Satcom K4) and required extensive payload modifications. Spacecraft: Based on GE 5000 series bus.3-axis stabilised using magnetotorquers. Hydrazine propulsion system. Two large solar panels with 1-axis articulation provide 4800 W BOL.4 50 Ahr NiH batteries. Payload: 16 Ku-band transponders which can be configured into 32 high quality television channels. Permits access from ground antennas 1.2 meters dia. and smaller. Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with GCS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 21 deg W in 1992-1999 As of 6 September 2001 located at 21.54 deg W drifting at 0.011 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 160.51W drifting at 11.137W degrees per day.

• 1992 July 2 21:54 - USA 82 Launch Vehicle: Atlas II. Atlas II AC-103 / Centaur II 8103 Apogee: 35,800 km (22,200 mi). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with GCS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 12 deg W in 1995-1996. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C).

• 1992 August 22 22:40 - Galaxy 1R Launch Vehicle: Atlas I. Destroyed by range safety. Centaur engine turbopump did not start. Identical to the 18 April 1991 failure.. Atlas I AC-71 / Centaur I 5051

• 1993 March 25 21:38 - UHF F1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas I. Atlas engine failure. Loss of booster engine thrust resulted in a lower-than planned 1560 km x 1900 km orbit. Atlas I AC-74 / Centaur I 5054 Apogee: 36,098 km (22,430 mi). US Navy communications; Ultra High Frequency Follow On; unusable orbit. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle was to have put payload into subsynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. As of 28 August 2001 located at 45.55 deg W drifting at 3.676 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 95.89E drifting at 3.687W degrees per day.

• 1993 July 19 22:04 - USA 93 Launch Vehicle: Atlas II. Atlas II AC-104 / Centaur II 8104 Apogee: 35,764 km (22,222 mi). Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with GCS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 175 deg E in 1995-1997.

• 1993 September 3 11:17 - USA 95 Launch Vehicle: Atlas I. Atlas I AC-75 / Centaur I 5055 Apogee: 35,805 km (22,248 mi). US Navy communications. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into subsynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 72 deg E in 1993-1999.

• 1993 November 28 23:40 - USA 97 Launch Vehicle: Atlas II. Atlas II AC-106 / Centaur II 8106 Apogee: 35,501 km (22,059 mi). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with GCS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 52 deg W in 1995; 60 deg E in 1997. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C).

• 1993 December 16 00:38 - Telstar 401 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-108 / Centaur II 8201 Apogee: 35,821 km (22,258 mi). Stationed at 97 deg W. Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C). Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with IFR trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 97 deg W in 1994-1997 As of 5 September 2001 located at 100.42 deg W drifting at 0.039 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 97.36W drifting at 0.024W degrees per day.

• 1994 April 13 06:04 - GOES 8 Launch Vehicle: Atlas I. Atlas I AC-73 / Centaur I 5053 Apogee: 35,807 km (22,249 mi). Geostationary Environmental Satellite. Stationed at 75 deg W. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A). Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 90 deg W in 1994-1995; 75 deg W in 1995-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 74.78 deg W drifting at 0.019 deg E per day. NASA announced that GOES-8 was "de-orbited" (presumably moved to a sub-synchronous orbit) on May 5, 2004 after 10 years of service. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 87.46E drifting at 4.935W degrees per day.

• 1994 June 24 13:50 - USA 104 Launch Vehicle: Atlas I. Atlas I AC-76 / Centaur I 5056 Apogee: 35,795 km (22,241 mi). US Navy communications . Stationed at 14.38 deg W 1995-1999. Launch vehicle put payload into subsynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option.

• 1994 August 3 23:57 - DBS 2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-107 / Centaur II 8107 Apogee: 35,797 km (22,243 mi). Commercial TV broadcast. Stationed at 100.79 deg W. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 101 deg W in 1994-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 100.81 deg W drifting at 0.010 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 91.17W drifting at 0.006W degrees per day.

• 1994 October 6 06:35 - Intelsat 703 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-111 / Centaur II 8202 Apogee: 35,792 km (22,240 mi). 38 C-band and 20 Ku-band transponders. Initially positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 177 deg E in 1994-1996. Then reassigned to Intelsat subsidiary New Skies, redesignated NSS 703, and moved to 57 deg E after 1996. At the crossroads of three continents, NSS-703 provided cross-connectivity for Europe, Africa and Asia. NSS-703 was used for video contribution from Europe to India and Africa, and was capable of bringing signals from London to India and Australia in one hop. NSS-703's coverage included a global beam, and two C-band hemispheric beams, which covered Africa and the triangle from Eastern Iran to Japan and Australia, including all of India and China. Three steerable Ku-band spot beams targeted Europe and Iran, Central Asia and Afghanistan-Pakistan-North India. Expected end of life March 2009. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 56.96E drifting at 0.001E degrees per day.

• 1994 November 29 10:21 - Orion 1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-110 / Centaur II 8109 Apogee: 35,792 km (22,240 mi). 34 Ku-band transponders for TV. Stationed at 37.48 deg W. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 37 deg W in 1994-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 37.54 deg W drifting at 0.010 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 37.60W drifting at 0.015W degrees per day.

• 1995 January 10 06:18 - Intelsat 704 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-113 / Centaur II 8203 Apogee: 35,796 km (22,242 mi). Stationed at 66.0 deg E. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 66 deg E in 1995-1999 As of 29 August 2001 located at 66.03 deg E drifting at 0.005 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 66.03E drifting at 0.002W degrees per day.

• 1995 January 29 01:25 - USA 108 Launch Vehicle: Atlas II. Atlas II AC-112 / Centaur II 8110 Apogee: 35,799 km (22,244 mi). UHF Follow-On #4; US Navy communications . Stationed at 177.0 deg W. Launch vehicle put payload into subsynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 177 deg W in 1995-1999.

• 1995 March 22 06:18 - Intelsat 705 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-115 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,798 km (22,243 mi). Stationed at 50.1 deg W. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 50 deg W in 1995-1996; 18 deg W in 1996-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 17.97 deg W drifting at 0.006 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 50.01W drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.

• 1995 April 7 23:47 - AMSC-1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-114 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,796 km (22,242 mi). Mobile communicaitons. Stationed at 101.1 deg W. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 101 deg W in 1995-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 101.01 deg W drifting at 0.024 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 100.99W drifting at 0.003W degrees per day.

• 1995 May 23 05:52 - GOES 9 Launch Vehicle: Atlas I. Atlas I AC-77 / Centaur I 5057 Apogee: 35,911 km (22,314 mi). Stationed at 135 deg W. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 90 deg W in 1995; 135 deg W in 1996-1998; 98-105 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 103.62 deg W drifting at 0.009 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 159.81E drifting at 0.002W degrees per day.

• 1995 May 31 15:27 - USA 111 Launch Vehicle: Atlas II. Atlas II AC-116 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,796 km (22,242 mi). UHF Follow-On #5; US Navy communications . Stationed at 72.3 deg E. Launch vehicle put payload into subsynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 72 deg E in 1995-1999.

• 1995 July 31 23:30 - USA 113 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-118 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,787 km (22,236 mi). Positioned in geosynchronous orbit; located at 53 deg W in 1997.

• 1995 August 29 00:53 - JCSAT 3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-117 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,794 km (22,241 mi). 8 transponders for digital TV. Stationed at 128.1 deg E. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR/MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 128 deg E in 1995-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 128.05 deg E drifting at 0.005 deg E per day. As of 2007 Feb 20 located at 126.99E drifting at 0.144W degrees per day.

• 1995 October 22 08:00 - USA 114 Launch Vehicle: Atlas II. Atlas II AC-119 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,797 km (22,243 mi). UHF Follow-On #6; US Navy communications. Stationed at 105.3 deg W. Launch vehicle put payload into subsynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 105 deg W in 1995-1999.

• 1995 December 2 08:08 - SOHO Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-121 / Centaur II Apogee: 671,400 km (417,100 mi). Solar and Heliospheric Observatory; orbiting at L1 Lagrange point; solar physics. En route Earth-Sun L1 point Earth-Sun L1 libration point transfer trajectory. Inertial trajectory option.

• 1995 December 15 00:23 - Galaxy 3R Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-120 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,799 km (22,244 mi). Stationed at 95 deg W; 24 C-band, 24 Ku-band transponders; TV for Caribbean and Central America. Launch vehicle put payload into subsynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 95 deg W in 1996-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 95.05 deg W drifting at 0.008 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 132.80W drifting at 0.084W degrees per day.

• 1996 February 1 01:15 - Palapa C-1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-126 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,798 km (22,243 mi). 30 C-band, 6 Ku-band transponders. Geostationary at 150.4E. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR/MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 113 deg E in 1996; 150 deg E in 1996-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 50.03 deg E drifting at 0.006 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 38.04E drifting at 0.007E degrees per day.

• 1996 April 3 23:01 - Inmarsat 3 F1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-122 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,806 km (22,248 mi). Geostationary at 64.1E. Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with RAAN Cntl trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 64 deg E in 1996-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 63.98 deg E drifting at 0.003 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 64.52E drifting at 0.006W degrees per day.

• 1996 April 30 04:31 - Beppo SAX Launch Vehicle: Atlas I. Atlas I AC-78 / Centaur I 5058 Apogee: 601 km (373 mi). LEO. Satellite per Astronomia a raggi X; X-ray celestial observatory Launch vehicle put payload into low earth orbit with IFR trajectory option. 100th Atlas-Centaur flight.

• 1996 July 25 12:42 - USA 127 Launch Vehicle: Atlas II. Atlas II AC-125 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,791 km (22,239 mi). Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 170 deg W in 1996; 23 deg W in 1996-1999; 100 deg W in 1999. As of 29 July 1999) 99.21 deg W drifting at 0.011 deg W per day. As of 2007 Feb 22 located at 21.85W drifting at 0.014W degrees per day.

• 1996 September 8 21:49 - GE 1 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-123 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,793 km (22,240 mi). Geostationary at 103.0W. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR/MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 103 deg W in 1996-1999 As of 4 September 2001 located at 103.06 deg W drifting at 0.009 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 103.03W drifting at 0.006W degrees per day.

• 1996 November 21 20:47 - Hot Bird 2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-124 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,803 km (22,246 mi). Geostationary at 13.0E. Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR/MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 13 deg E in 1997-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 12.95 deg E drifting at 0.024 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 4 located at 13.07E drifting at 0.011E degrees per day.

• 1996 December 18 01:57 - Inmarsat 3 F3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-129 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,807 km (22,249 mi). Geostationary at 157.6E. Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with RAAN Cntl trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 178 deg E in 1997-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 178.02 deg E drifting at 0.006 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 178.19E drifting at 0.002E degrees per day.

• 1997 February 17 01:42 - JCSAT 4 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-127 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,793 km (22,240 mi). Geosynchronous. Stationed over 150.0E Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR/MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 150 deg E in 1997-1998; 124 deg E in 1998-1999; 127 deg E in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 127.02 deg E drifting at 0.015 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 7 located at 150.01E drifting at 0.008W degrees per day.

• 1997 March 8 06:01 - Tempo 2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-128 / Centaur II Apogee: 35,792 km (22,240 mi). Geosynchronous. Stationed over 118.7W Launch vehicle put payload into subsynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 119 deg W in 1997-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 118.82 deg W drifting at 0.001 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 42.64E drifting at 4.479W degrees per day.

• 1997 April 25 05:49 - GOES 10 Launch Vehicle: Atlas I. Atlas I AC-79 Apogee: 35,799 km (22,244 mi). Geosynchronous. Stationed over 105.7W Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 105 deg W in 1997-1998; 135 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 6 September 2001 located at 135.09 deg W drifting at 0.037 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 59.64W drifting at 0.009W degrees per day.

• 1997 July 28 01:15 - Superbird C Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-133 Apogee: 35,793 km (22,240 mi). Geosynchronous. Stationed over 144.0E Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR/MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 144 deg E in 1997-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 144.00 deg E drifting at 0.014 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 143.94E drifting at 0.009W degrees per day.

• 1997 September 4 12:03 - GE 3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-146 Apogee: 35,795 km (22,241 mi). Geosynchronous. Stationed over 87.1W Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR/MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 87 deg W in 1997-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 87.12 deg W drifting at 0.002 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 86.99W drifting at 0.010W degrees per day.

• 1997 October 5 21:01 - Echostar 3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-135 Apogee: 35,794 km (22,241 mi). Geosynchronous. Stationed over 61.4W Launch vehicle put payload into supersynchronous earth orbit with IFR/MRS trajectory option. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 61 deg W in 1997-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 61.53 deg W drifting at 0.017 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 61.50W drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.

• 1997 October 25 00:46 - USA 135 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-131 Apogee: 35,800 km (22,200 mi). Geosynchronous. Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with GCS trajectory option.

• 1997 December 8 23:52 - Galaxy 8i Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-149 Apogee: 35,799 km (22,244 mi). Geosynchronous. Stationed over 79.2W Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with MRS trajectory option. Used HS-601 XIPS ion engine for station keeping. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 95 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 94.92 deg W drifting at 0.000 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 37.58W drifting at 2.053W degrees per day.

• 1998 January 29 18:37 - USA 137 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-109 Apogee: 39,500 km (24,500 mi). Classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. It was likely that it was a technology test satellite combining equipment for several future projects, including a prototype COBRA BRASS infrared early warning satellite sensor. The project seemed to have been several years behind schedule (based on the launch vehicle serial number.

• 1998 February 28 00:21 - Intelsat 806 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-151 Apogee: 35,799 km (22,244 mi). Initially positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 40 deg W in 1998-2001. 36 C-band and 6 Ku-band transponders. Later assigned to Intelsat spin-off New Skies, redesignated NSS-806, and moved to 319.5º East, giving it an optimum view of Latin American markets while also reaching the Iberian peninsula, the Canary Islands, Western Europe and much of Eastern Europe. Its tailored, high-powered hemispheric beam provided simultaneous coverage of both Europe and the Americas, with virtually complete coverage of North, Central and South America, therefore ensuring the maximum reach throughout Spanish and Portuguese speaking markets. Expected end of life July 2016. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 40.47W drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.

• 1998 March 16 21:32 - USA 138 Launch Vehicle: Atlas II. Atlas II AC-132 Apogee: 35,803 km (22,246 mi). UHF Follow-On F8 was the first Block III UHF Follow-On satellite, replacing the old FLTSATCOM satellites. It carried UHF, EHF and Ka-band transponders, including a video broadcast payload. This was the last Atlas II launch; future Atlas launches would use the Atlas IIA, IIAS and III models. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 172 deg E in 1998-1999.

• 1998 June 18 22:48 - Intelsat 805 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-153 Apogee: 35,800 km (22,200 mi). Satellite had 28 C-band and 3 Ku-band transponders, and initially served the Atlantic Ocean region for INTELSAT. Launch vehicle put payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit with GCS trajectory option. Geostationary at 55.5 degrees W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 55 deg W in 1998-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 55.52 deg W drifting at 0.009 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 55.54W drifting at 0.012W degrees per day.

• 1998 October 9 22:50 - Hot Bird 5 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-134 Apogee: 35,805 km (22,248 mi). Geostationary at 10.0 degrees E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 13 deg E in 1998-1999 As of 3 September 2001 located at 12.97 deg E drifting at 0.010 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 25.56E drifting at 0.014W degrees per day.

• 1998 October 20 07:19 - USA 140 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-130 Apogee: 35,806 km (22,248 mi). The orbit at burnout of the Centaur was 286 km x 25866 km x 27.0 degree. Modification of the orbit to a geostationary 38,300 km circular x 0.0 degree inclination was accomplished by the Marquardt R-4D liquid propellant motor on the HS-601 spacecraft. The satellite carried UHF and EHF transponders for naval communications, and a Ka-band Global Broadcast Service video relay package. Launch mass of 3200 kg dropped to 1550 kg once geostationary orbit was reached. UHF F/O F9 was placed over the Atlantic Ocean in geosynchronous orbit at 174 deg W in 1998; 22 deg W in 1999.

• 1999 February 16 01:45 - JCSAT-6 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-152 Apogee: 35,791 km (22,239 mi). JCSAT-6 carried a Ku-band relay system. It was operated by Japan Satellite Systems, Inc., Tokyo, provided communications and data relay for Japan and the Pacific Rim. Two burns of the Centaur upper stage placed it into a supersynchronous transfer orbit of 258 km x 96736 km x 24.1 degrees. JCSAT-6's on-board R-4D engine would maneuver it into its final geostationary location. Dry mass of the spacecraft was 1230 kg. Stationed at 124 deg E Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 123 deg E in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 124.00 deg E drifting at 0.014 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 124.01E drifting at 0.011W degrees per day.

• 1999 April 12 22:50 - Eutelsat W3 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-154 Apogee: 35,797 km (22,243 mi). Communications satellite is for the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization. The vehicle entered a 153 km x 385 km x 27.4 deg parking orbit nine minutes after launch. The second Centaur stage burn delivered the satellite to a 166 km x 46,076 km x 19.7 deg super-synchronous transfer orbit. The satellite was stationed at 7 deg E and carried 24 Ku-band transponders with a wide beam covering Europe, North Africa and Asia, and a spot beam for digital TV to Turkey. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 7 deg E in 1999. As of 26 August 2001 located at 7.01 deg E drifting at 0.004 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 7 located at 21.59E drifting at 0.003E degrees per day.

• 1999 September 23 06:02 - Echostar 5 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-155 Apogee: 35,795 km (22,241 mi). The Centaur second stage put Echostar 5 into a supersynchronous transfer orbit of 131 km x 45526 km x 26.6 degrees. The satellite's own engine put it into the final geosynchronous orbit. Echostar 5 was a Ku-band satellite, part of the Dish Network. Stationed at 110 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 110 deg W in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 110.01 deg W drifting at 0.003 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 128.86W drifting at 0.001E degrees per day.

• 1999 November 23 04:06 - USA 146 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-136 Apogee: 36,626 km (22,758 mi). UHF Follow-on satellite providing UHF and EHF communications, and Global Broadcast Service television for the US Navy. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 173 deg W in 1999; 72 deg E in 2000-2003.

• 2000 January 21 01:03 - USA 148 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-138 Apogee: 35,790 km (22,230 mi). Part of the US Air Force Defense Satellite Communications System. To be stationed in geosynchronous orbit over the Pacific Ocean.

• 2000 February 3 23:30 - Hispasat 1C Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-158 Apogee: 35,796 km (22,242 mi). Spanish domestic geosynchronous communications satellite. Stationed at 30 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 30 deg W in 2000. As of 3 September 2001 located at 30.14 deg W drifting at 0.013 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 30.01W drifting at 0.005W degrees per day.

• 2000 May 3 07:07 - GOES 11 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-137 Apogee: 35,796 km (22,242 mi). US civilian geostationary weather satellite in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite series. It was the first GOES launch on the Atlas II launch vehicle (the Atlas I having been phased out). Built by SS/Loral, based on the FS-1300 bus. It was equipped with one solar panel array and a counter-boom with a solar sail. The satellite carried well as an imaging radiometer and an X-ray detector to monitor solar activity. Stationed at 106 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 104 deg W in 2000. As of 5 September 2001 located at 108.58 deg W drifting at 0.018 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 135.52W drifting at 0.001E degrees per day.

• 2000 May 24 23:10 - Eutelsat W4 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIIA. Atlas 3A AC-201 Apogee: 35,797 km (22,243 mi). Communications satellite. Maiden flight of Atlas IIIA with Russian RD-180 main engine; scrubbed four times. European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Eutelsat) satellite equipped with 32 Ku-band transponders, and antennae covering Russia and Africa. It will be stationed at 36 deg E. This was the third of the high power Eutelsat W series to be launched (W1 was destroyed in a ground accident). Stationed at 36 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 32 deg E in 2000. As of 4 September 2001 located at 35.98 deg E drifting at 0.003 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 36.08E drifting at 0.005E degrees per day.

• 2000 June 30 12:56 - TDRS 8 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-139 Apogee: 35,800 km (22,200 mi). Launch delayed from June 29. First Advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, using a Hughes HS 601 satellite bus. It included an S-band phased array antenna and two Ku/Ka band reflectors 4.6 meters in diameter. The satellite was launched into a a 167 x 577 km x 28.3 deg parking orbit at 13:05 GMT. The Centaur upper stage made a second burn at 13:21 GMT, releasing the satellite into a subsynchronous transfer orbit of 237 x 27,666 km x 27.0 deg. The satellite's own Primex/Marquardt R4D liquid apogee engine would be used to maneuver the satellite into its final geosynchronous orbit. Stationed at 151 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 150 deg W in 2000. As of 5 September 2001 located at 149.99 deg W drifting at 0.014 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 145.38E drifting at 3.007W degrees per day.

• 2000 July 14 05:21 - Echostar 6 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-161 Apogee: 35,793 km (22,240 mi). Communications satellite, positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 149 deg W. By 5 September 2001 located at 119.07 deg W drifting at 0.002 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 110.39W drifting at 0.006W degrees per day.

• 2000 October 20 - USA 153 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-140 Apogee: 35,790 km (22,230 mi). Military Communications satellite. Launch delayed from October 12 by spacecraft problem. The US Air Force Defense Satellite Communications System satellite was placed by the Centaur upper stage into a 148 km x 898 km x 29.3 deg parking orbit. A second burn put it into a 218 km x 35,232 km x 26.0 deg transfer orbit. The DSCS III B-11 IABS-8 apogee stage, with two Primex R4D liquid apogee engines, circularised the orbit at geostationary altitude on October 21 and then separated from the DSCS.

• 2000 December 6 - USA 155 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-157 Apogee: 35,790 km (22,230 mi). Classified satellite. Launch delayed 24 hours by RL10 engine problem in upper stage. USA 155 was a classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite. The Centaur placed the payload in a 176 x 831 km parking orbit and then in a 270 x 37490 km x 26.5 deg geostationary transfer orbit. The spacecraft was probably either a data relay satellite (to relay spy satellite imagery and data to the ground) and/or a signals intelligence satellite.

• 2001 June 19 04:41 - ICO F-2 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-156 Apogee: 10,389 km (6,455 mi). Launch delayed from June 5. The ICO-2 satellite was launched by British New ICO (formerly ICO Global Communications) to provide mobile communications and data/Internet services at S-band, supporting 4500 simultaneous calls. The Boeing BSS-601M satellite was similar to the standard geostationary 601 model except that it omitted the R-4D apogee engine and associated fuel, and had a larger payload section. Launch mass was 2700 kg; dry mass was around 2200-2400 kg with the remainder being station-keeping fuel. The AC-156 launch vehicle's Centaur stage reached a 167 x 10099 km x 44.6 deg transfer orbit 10 minutes after launch. A second burn 1.5 hours later put ICO-2 into a circular 10,100 km orbit. The first ICO satellite was launched in March 2000 but failed to reach orbit. ICO-2 was used for testing of the ICO system before the remaining satellites would be launched. Unlike the Iridium and Globalstar constellations, ICO proposed to use a small number of large satellites. The ICO fleet, anticipated to consist of 10 satellites, was to enable relay in S- and C-bands of voice and internet communications from/to land and ocean based mobile telephones. With a total power of 5 kW, ICO F2 was to enable a simultaneous capacity in 4,500 channels.

• 2001 July 23 07:23 - GOES 12 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-142 Apogee: 35,813 km (22,253 mi). Launch delayed from July 12, 15 and 22. The GOES-M weather satellite was placed by the Atlas AC-142 Centaur stage into a 164 x 505 km parking orbit and then a super synchronous transfer orbit of 274 x 42275 km x 20 deg. GOES-M was a Loral 1300-series satellite with a single solar array and a solar attitude control sail. Launch mass was 2279 kg and dry mass 1042 kg. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites were developed by NASA-Goddard and were transferred to the NOAA weather agency when operational. In addition to the usual weather imager/sounder, GOES-M carried a new solar soft X-ray imager. Earlier GOES satellites carried simple X-ray collimator detectors, but the new SXI was a full-fledged grazing incidence telescope similar to the SXT on Japan's Yohkoh satellite. The GOES-M satellite was redesignated GOES 12 once in orbit.

  GOES 12 was a 980 kg, 973 W spacecraft that carried an IR imager, a "sounder", and an X-ray imager. The IR imager was a Cassegrain telescope covering five wavelength channels, 0.55-0.75, 3.80-4.00, 6.50-7.00, 10.20-11.20, and 11.50-12.50 microns. It provided images covering 3,000 km x 3,000 km every 41 seconds, by scanning the area in 16 square kilometer sections. The "sounder" provided vertical distribution of temperature, moisture and ozone, by passive monitoring in 18 depth-dependent wavelengths. (Long wave IR: 14.71, 14.37, 14.06, 13.64, 13.37, 12.66, and 12.02 microns. Medium wave IR: 11.03, 9.71, 7.43, 7.02, and 6.51 microns. Short wave IR: 4.57, 4.52, 4.45, 4.13, 3.98, and 3.74 microns. There was also another band at visible wavelength 0.7 microns, to provide pictures of cloud tops.) The sounder covered an area of 3,000 km x 3,000 km in about 42 minutes. Another instrument package named SEM (Space Environment Monitor) monitored the energetic electrons and protons in the magnetosphere and the X-rays from the Sun. The above three had been carried on the earlier GOES missions, but GOES 12 carried also an X-ray imager providing an X-ray (about 0.1-1.0 nm wavelength) picture of the solar disk. For some months, the spacecraft was to be on standby, to be activated and moved to a desired longitude. As of 5 September 2001 located at 89.93 deg W drifting at 0.001 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 74.73W drifting at 0.014E degrees per day.

• 2001 October 11 02:32 - USA 162 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-162 The Atlas AC-162 Centaur entered a 176 x 907 km x 28.2 deg parking orbit at 0242 GMT and then made a second burn to deploy its payload in a 274 x 37538 km x 26.5 deg geostationary transfer orbit at 0301 GMT. USA 162 was rumoured to be a data relay satellite used to return data from imaging satellites similar to the one launched on October 5 2001. It was also possible that the satellite is a signals intelligence payload. The satellite is owned and operated by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

• 2002 February 21 12:43 - Echostar 7 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIIB. Atlas 3B AC-204 Apogee: 35,794 km (22,241 mi). Direct Broasdcasting satellite. The first launch of the Atlas 3B, with the Common Centaur stretched two-engine upper stage. Launch delayed from December 19, 2001 and January 22. The Echostar 7 communications satellite was placed into geostationary transfer orbit. The first burn of the Centaur put the stack into a 185 x 193 km x 28.1 deg parking orbit. At 1305 UTC the Centaur burned again to achieve the final 245 x 57060 km x 22.6 deg transfer orbit and separated from Echostar. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 118.92W drifting at 0.006W degrees per day.

• 2002 March 8 22:59 - TDRS 9 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA AC-143 Apogee: 35,811 km (22,251 mi). Launch delayed from October 31, November 13 and 26, 2001 and February 6 due to contract dispute with Boeing over performance of earlier satellites of the series. The Centaur upper stage entered a 167 x 578 km parking orbit and then placed the payload into a 247 x 29135 km x 27.1 deg subsynchronous transfer orbit. NASA's TDRS-I (TDRS-9) data relay satellite used a Boeing BSS-601 bus and was to provide S, Ku and Ka band communications for the Shuttle and International Space Station. After launch a problem developed with the fuel supply from one of the satellite's four propellant tanks. The tanks were paired, so losing one tank cuts the propellant supply in half. A test burn of the General Dynamics R-4D apogee motor raised the orbit to 433 x 29146 km x 26.4 deg on March 11 and a larger perigee burn raised the apogee to geostationary altitude, 429 x 35800 km, on March 13. A further burn on March 19, raised the orbit to 3521 x 35789 km and lowered the inclination to 21.4 deg. A burn on March 25 raised the orbit further to 8383 x 35811 km and lowered inclination to 17.4 deg. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 62.04W drifting at 0.008W degrees per day.

• 2002 September 18 22:04 - Hispasat 1D Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas 2AS s/n AC-159 Apogee: 35,802 km (22,246 mi). Launch delayed from May 28, August 14. Hispasat 1D was a Spanish geostationary communications spacecraft. The 3.3-ton, 7.0-kW satellite carried three antennae looking in different directions to provide video, data, and Internet services to Europe, North America, and North Africa via 28 Ku-band transponders after being parked over 30° W longitude alongside Hispasat 1A, 1B, and 1C. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 29.97W drifting at 0.014W degrees per day.

• 2002 December 5 02:42 - TDRS 10 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. Atlas IIA s/n AC-144 Apogee: 35,804 km (22,247 mi). Delayed from October 29, November 21 and 23. The third and final Advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite satellite separated from the Centaur upper stage 30 minutes after launch. This completed the $800 million, three satellite contract. Last launch of the Atlas 2A booster. Flight delayed from October 29, November 21 and 23. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 40.92W drifting at 0.012E degrees per day.

• 2003 April 12 00:47 - AsiaSat 4 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIIB. Atlas 3B/SEC (AC-205) Apogee: 35,805 km (22,248 mi). Delayed from May 28, 2002, and January 13, February 5, and April 11, 2003. AsiaSat 4 was designed to provide broadcast, telecommunications and broadband multimedia services to the Asia Pacific region, and direct-to-home broadcast servic-es to Hong Kong, from its orbital position of 122 deg É East longitude.The satellite generated up to 9,600 watts using two sun-tracking four-panel solar wings covered with triple-junction gallium arsenide solar cells. AsiaSat 4 was to operate in C-band and Ku-band. The satellite carried 28 active transponders with six spares in C-band, powered by 55-watt traveling-wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs), and 20 active transponders with four spares in Ku-band, powered by 140-watt TWTAs. The C-band payload was designed to offer pan-Asian coverage, similar to AsiaSat 3S, also a 601HP model. The Ku-band payload provided high power, and spot beams for selected areas in either the Fixed Satellite Service frequency band or in the Broadcast Satellite Service frequency band. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 122.23E drifting at 0.011W degrees per day.

• 2003 December 18 02:30 - USA 174 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIIB. Atlas IIIB AC-203 Apogee: 35,798 km (22,243 mi). The last UHF Follow-On communications satellite for the US Navy. The satellite provided fleet communications from geostationary orbit.

• 2004 February 5 23:46 - AMC-10 (GE-10) Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-165 Apogee: 376 km (233 mi). Americom 10 (AMC-10) was a replacement satellite for Satcom C3. It was to be located at 135 deg W. The C-band satellite, to be accompanied by AMC-11 later in 2004, were designed to support SES Americom's cable network in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico. The satellite had a design life of 15 years and carried 24 x 36 MHz C-band transponders. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 134.97W drifting at 0.005E degrees per day.

• 2004 March 13 05:40 - MBSAT Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIIA. Atlas IIIA AC-202 Apogee: 35,795 km (22,241 mi). Mobile S-band digital broadcasting services for home and automobile users in Japan. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 144.03E drifting at 0.009W degrees per day.

• 2004 April 16 00:45 - Superbird 6 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-163 Apogee: 35,797 km (22,243 mi). The satellite was to provide Ka and Ku band communications for Japan's Space Communications Corporation.

• 2004 August 31 23:17 - USA 179 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. Atlas IIAS AC-167 63rd and last flight of Atlas IIAS. 576th and final launch of Rocketdyne-powered Atlas rockets. Final launch from LC36A after 42 years of use. Launch delayed from June 24 and 25, July 1 and 27, August 27, 28, 29 and 30. The payload was probably a communications satellite used to relay data from imaging spy satellites.

• 2005 February 3 07:41 - USA 181 Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIIB. Atlas IIIB AC-206 Apogee: 1,209 km (751 mi). Last launch of an Atlas model using the original, innovative, balloon propellant tanks conceived in 1947. Third launch of new generation paired satellites used for tracking, characterisation, and intelligence on naval vessels and civilian shipping worldwide.