Intelsat III F-4

Intelsat III F-4
Mission typeCommunications
OperatorIntelsat
COSPAR ID1969-045A[1]
SATCAT no.03947[2]
Mission duration5 years design life
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerTRW
Launch mass647 kilograms (1,426 lb)
BOL mass151 kilograms (333 lb)
Dry mass293 kilograms (646 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date22 May 1969, 02:00 (1969-05-22UTC02Z) UTC
RocketDelta M
Launch siteCape Canaveral LC-17A
ContractorNASA
End of mission
DisposalDecommissioned
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeGeostationary
Eccentricity0.00471
Perigee altitude35,276 kilometres (21,919 mi)
Apogee altitude35,670 kilometres (22,160 mi)
Inclination0.5 degrees
Period1,418.9 minutes
Epoch22 May 1969
Intelsat III

Intelsat III F-4 was a geostationary communications satellite above the Pacific.[3] It was built by TRW and owned by Intelsat, a company currently based in Luxembourg. The satellite had an estimated useful life of 5 years.

The Intelsat III F-4 was part of the Intelsat III series which consisted of eight satellites, which were used for retransmission of global commercial telecommunications, including live TV.

The satellite was stabilized by rotation with a minus antenna structure (The antenna was 34 inches high). It had a hydrazine propulsion system with four propellers and four tanks, and a passive thermal control. With solar cells producing 178W peak, nine Ahr NiCd batteries. The load consisted of two transponders that used 12 watt TWTA amplifiers for multiple access, 1500 audio circuits or four TV channels. The Intelsat III F-1 was disabled due to launch vehicle failure.

The satellite was successfully launched into space on May 22, 1969, by means of a Delta M vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, United States. It had a launch mass of 293 kg.[4]

  1. ^ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. INTELSAT 3 F-4. NSSDC Master Catalog. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  2. ^ INTELSAT 3-F4 N2yo.com. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Spacecraft". NASA. 28 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  4. ^ Krebs, Gunter. Intelsat 3. Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 19 April 2017.