 ATS-4 | |
| Mission type | Weather Satellite |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1968-068A |
| SATCAT no. | 03344 |
| Mission duration | 38 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | HS-306 |
| Manufacturer | Hughes Aircraft |
| Launch mass | 305 kilograms (672 lb)[1] |
| Power | 350 W (peak) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | August 10, 1968, 22:33:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D (AC-17) |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral[1] LC-36A[2] |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | August 10, 1968 |
| Decay date | October 17, 1968[3] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | LEO |
| Eccentricity | 0.042372[2] |
| Perigee altitude | 185.99 kilometres (115.57 mi)[2] |
| Apogee altitude | 766.89 kilometres (476.52 mi)[2] |
| Inclination | 29.141º [2] |
| Period | 94.131 minutes[2] |
ATS-4 (Applications Technology Satellite) also known as ATS-D was a communications satellite launched by NASA on August 10, 1968[3] from Cape Canaveral through an Atlas-Centaur (AC-17) rocket.[1][2]
- ^ a b c Bell, Ed. "1968-068A". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g Cite error: The named reference
LewisReportwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Garner, Robert (2010-01-22). "ATS". Goddard Space Flight Center. Greenbelt, MD: NASA. Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
ATS-4 was to investigate the possibilities of a gravity gradient stabilization system. A launch vehicle failure stranded ATS-4 in a much lower than planned orbit, making the satellite nearly useless. Despite this, NASA engineers successfully turned on several of the experiments to collect as much information as possible during the craft's short life. The low orbit and resulting atmospheric drag caused ATS-4 to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and break apart on Oct. 17, 1968.