Operator US Air Force SATCAT no. 2324 BOL mass 3.2 kilograms (7.1 lb) Inclination 144.2° Launch mass 10.4 kg Launch date 14 July 1966 | COSPAR ID 1966-063A Spacecraft type OV1 Inclination 144.2° Period 1.8 hours Launch mass 10.4 kg Manufacturer Goodyear Aerospace | |
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Mission type Communications
Technology | ||
Passive Communications Satellite or PasComSat, also known as OV1-8 was a communications satellite launched by USAF in 1966 as part of the Orbiting Vehicle program. The satellite functioned as a reflector, not a transceiver, so that after it was placed in low earth orbit, a signal would be sent to it, reflected or bounced off its surface, and then returned to Earth.
Design
The grid-sphere design as opposed to a fully covered sphere was aimed at reducing the effects of solar pressure and space drag found to be a problem during Project Echo. The USAF contracted with Goodyear Aerospace for construction of a 9 meters (30 ft) diameter grid-sphere balloon. It was made of a soft aluminum wire grid embedded in a special plastic designed to dissolve in space under the sun's strong ultraviolet rays. On July 13, 1966, the satellite payload was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, atop an Atlas rocket. It went into orbit and was automatically inflated with helium. The plastic covering soon dissolved, leaving an open aluminum structure orbiting the earth. Tests indicated that the satellite would remain in orbit for at least 11 years and that it had a reflective power five times greater than that of a solid sphere. The satellite decayed from orbit on January 4, 1978.