 | |
| Mission type | Communications satellite |
|---|---|
| Operator | USAF |
| COSPAR ID | 1965-108D |
| SATCAT no. | 01941 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Lincoln Laboratory |
| Launch mass | 16 kg (35 lb)[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 21 December 1965, 14:00:01 |
| Rocket | Titan IIIC |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC41 |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | Late summer 1967 |
| Decay date | 6 April 1968 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Highly elliptical |
| Eccentricity | 0.71486 |
| Perigee altitude | 195 km (121 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 33,177.00 km (20,615.23 mi) |
| Inclination | 26.4° |
| Period | 581.80 minutes[1] |
| Epoch | 21 December 1965 15:36:00 |
Lincoln Experimental Satellite 3, also known as LES-3, was a communications satellite, the third of nine in the Lincoln Experimental Satellite. Launched by the United States Air Force (USAF) on 21 Dec 1965, it was stranded in a Geostationary Transfer Orbit rather than its planned circular high orbit. Despite this, LES-3 returned good data on communications propagation in the UHF band.