PasComSat

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.

PasComSat

OV1-08 PasComSat Grid-Sphere Satellite when inflated, showing plastic designed to later dissolve.
Mission type	Communications Technology
Operator	US Air Force
COSPAR ID	1966-063A
SATCAT no.	2324
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	OV1
Manufacturer	Goodyear Aerospace[1]
Launch mass	10.4 kilograms (23 lb)[2]
BOL mass	3.2 kilograms (7.1 lb)[1]
Dimensions	9.1-meter (30 ft) sphere[1]
Start of mission
Launch date	14 July 1966, 02:10:02 UTC[3]
Rocket	Atlas D OV1
Launch site	Vandenberg ABRES B-3
Contractor	US Air Force
End of mission
Decay date	4 January 1978[4]
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	955 kilometers (593 mi)
Apogee altitude	1,047 kilometers (651 mi)
Inclination	144.2 degrees
Period	105.14 minutes
Epoch	15 August 1966[4]

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.[5] The satellite decayed from orbit on January 4, 1978.[6]

See also

• 1966 in spaceflight

References

1. Krebs, Gunter. "PasComSat (OV1 8)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
2. "OV1- 8". National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
3. McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
4. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
5. "Grid-Sphere Passive Communications Satellite". National Museum of the US Air Force. USAF. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
6. "OV1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved December 5, 2013.