![]() Image of SNAP 10A Space Nuclear Power Plant | |
Mission type | Engineering |
---|---|
Operator | USAF |
COSPAR ID | 1965-027A |
SATCAT no. | 01314![]() |
Mission duration | 43 days |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | Atomics International |
Launch mass | 440 kg (970 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 3 April 1965, 21:25 |
Rocket | Atlas-Agena D |
Launch site | Vandenberg AFB, PALC2-4[1] |
End of mission | |
Last contact | May 16, 1965 |
Decay date | April 3, 5966 (planned) |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Eccentricity | 0.00319 |
Perigee altitude | 1,268 km (788 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 1,317 km (818 mi) |
Inclination | 90.2° |
Period | 111.4 minutes[2] |
Epoch | 3 April 1965 |
Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power |
SNAP-10A (Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power,[3] aka Snapshot for Space Nuclear Auxiliary Power Shot, also known as OPS 4682[4]) was a US experimental nuclear powered satellite launched into space in 1965[5] as part of the SNAPSHOT program.[6][4] The test marked both the world's first operation of a nuclear reactor in orbit,[7][8] and the first operation of an ion thruster system in orbit. It is the only fission reactor power system launched into space by the United States.[9] The reactor stopped working after just 43 days due to a non-nuclear electrical component failure.[10] The Systems Nuclear Auxiliary Power Program reactor was specifically developed for satellite use in the 1950s and early 1960s under the supervision of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.[11][12]
nasa/doe2010
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).