Mission type Communications COSPAR ID 1967-001A Mission duration 3 years Inclination 6.8° Period 24 hours Launch date 11 January 1967 | Operator Intelsat SATCAT no. 2639 Spacecraft type Intelsat II Inclination 6.8° Launch mass 162 kg Rocket Delta E | |
Similar Intelsat III F‑3, Intelsat 603, Galaxy 10R, Intelsat 5, Galaxy 27 | ||
Intelsat II F-2, also known as Lani Bird, was a communications satellite operated by Intelsat. Launched in 1967, it was operated in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 174 degrees east until 1969.
The second of four Intelsat II satellites to be launched, Intelsat II F-2 was built by Hughes Aircraft around the HS-303A satellite bus. It carried two transponders, which were powered by body-mounted solar cells generating 85 watts of power. The spacecraft had a mass of 162 kilograms (357 lb) at launch, decreasing to 86 kilograms (190 lb) by the beginning of its operational life.
Intelsat II F-2 was launched atop a Delta E1 rocket flying from Launch Complex 17B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch took place at 10:55:00 on January 11, 1967, with the spacecraft entering a geosynchronous transfer orbit. It fired an SVM-1 apogee motor to place itself into its operational geostationary orbit, arriving on-station at 174° East on February 4, 1967. The satellite achieved around two years of operation at that slot before failing in 1969.
As of February 4, 2014, Intelsat II F-2 was in an orbit with a perigee of 35,748 kilometers (22,213 mi), an apogee of 35,845 kilometers (22,273 mi), inclination of 6.80 degrees and an orbital period of 23.93 hours.