Intelsat III F-8 was a communications satellite owned by Intelsat. The satellite had an estimated useful life of 5 years.

Design

The last of eight Intelsat III satellites to be launched, Intelsat III F-8 was built by TRW. It was a 293-kilogram (646 lb) spacecraft equipped with two transponders to be powered by body-mounted solar cells generating 183 watts of power.[3] It had a design life of five years and carried an SVM-2 apogee motor for propulsion.[4]

Launch

Intelsat III F-8 was launched on a Delta M rocket, flying from Launch Complex 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch took place on July 23, 1970, with the spacecraft bound for a geosynchronous transfer orbit.[1]

The Intelsat III F-8 was lost due to a malfunction during the apogee motor firing. Communications stopped 14.5 seconds into the planned 27 second apogee motor burn.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center. "INTELSAT 3 F-8". NSSDC Master Catalog. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  3. ^ Wade, Mark. "Intelsat 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on February 23, 2002. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  4. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "Intelsat-3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved April 21, 2017.