| astronautix.com | Chronology - 2000 - Quarter 4 |
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- 2000 Oct 1 - - 22:00 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC81L. Launch Vehicle: Proton 8K82K / DM3.
Ku-band communications satellite to provide broadcast services for eastern Asia. Stationed at 108 deg E.
- 2000 Oct 6 - - 23:00 GMT. Nation: Japan. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Complex: ELA2. Launch Vehicle: Ariane 42L.
N-SAT-110, also known as Superbird 5, was jointly owned by SCC (Space Communications Corporation of Tokyo) and JSat (Japan Satellite Systems). SCC controlled the vehicle on orbit. The satellite carried 24 Ku-band transponders. By October 15 N-SAT-110 was in a 35610 x 35752 km x 0.1 deg orbit drifting past 109 deg E. Stationed at 110 deg E.
- 2000 Oct 9 - - 05:38 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Site: Kwajalein . Launch Complex: RW06/24. Launch Vehicle: Pegasus.
Second High Energy Transient Explorer; built by MIT using leftover parts from the first HETE. This failed to operate because of a Pegasus adapter failure during launch in November 1996. MIT operates the satellite, while the program is managed by NASA GSFC as an Explorer mission of opportunity. HETE's main instrument is FREGATE, the French Gamma Telescope, a hard X-ray spectrometer operating in the 6 to 400 keV energy range. This gamma ray burst detector, together with a Wide Field X-ray Monitor hard X-ray coded mask telescope, is used to trigger searches with the two Soft X-ray Imagers which have 33-arcsecond spatial resolution. This will let astronomers get precise locations for gamma-ray bursts, allowing detailed follow-up with optical instruments. The satellite is in a 595 x 636 km x 2.0 deg equatorial orbit, and sends data to a network of small ground terminals spaced around the equator.
- 2000 Oct 11 - - 23:17 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Complex: LC39A. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. LV Configuration: STS-92.
STS-92 was a space station assembly flight to bring the Z-1 Truss (mounted on a Spacelab pallet), Control Moment Gyros, Pressurised Mating Adapter-3 (PMA-3) and two DDCU (Heat pipes) to the International Space Station.
The RSRM-76 solid rocket boosters separated at 23:19 GMT and main engine cut-off (MECO) came at 23:25 GMT. External tank ET-104 separated into a 74 x 323 km x 51.6 deg orbit. At apogee at 00:01 GMT on Oct 12, Discovery's OMS engines fired to raise perigee to a 158 x 322 km x 51.6 deg orbit; ET-104 re-entered over the Pacific around 00:30 GMT. At Oct 12 on 03:01 GMT the NC1 burn raised the orbit to 180 x 349 km; NC3 on Oct 12 to 311 x 375 km; and the TI burn at 14:09 GMT on Oct 13 to 375 x 381 km x 51.6 deg. Discovery's rendezvous with the International Space Station came at 15:39 GMT on Oct 13, with docking at 17:45 GMT. The spaceship docked with PMA-2, the docking port on the +Y port of the Space Station's Unity module. Hatch was open to PMA-2 at 20:30 GMT the same day.
STS-92 Cargo Manifest
Total payload bay cargo: ca. 14,800 kg
The Z1 first segment of the space station truss was built by Boeing/Canoga Park and was 3.5 x 4.5 meters in size. It was attached to the +Z port on Unity. Z1 carried the control moment gyros, the S-band antenna, and the Ku-band antenna.
PMA-3, built by Boeing/Huntington Beach, was docked to the -Z port opposite Z1. PMA-3 was installed on a Spacelab pallet for launch.
On October 14 at 16:15 GMT the Z1 segment was unberthed from the payload bay and at around 18:20 GMT it was docked to the zenith port on the Unity module.
On October 15 at 14:20 GMT the ODS airlock was depressurised, beginning a spacewalk by Bill McArthur and Leroy Chiao. Official NASA EVA duration (battery power to repress) was 6 hours 28 minutes.
The second spacewalk was on October 16, with Jeff Wisoff and Mike Lopez-Alegria. The suits went to battery power at 14:15 GMT and Wisoff left the airlock at 14:21 GMT. Repressurisation began at 21:22 GMT for a duration of 7 hours 07minutes.
Leroy Chiao and Bill McArthur began the third STS-92 EVA at 15:30 GMT on October 17, completing their work at 22:18 GMT for a total time of 6 hours 48 minutes.
After the spacewalk, Discovery completed the second of the three station reboosts scheduled for STS-92. They fired reaction control system jets in a series of pulses of 1.4 seconds each, over a 30-minute period, gently raising the station's orbit by about 3.1 km.
The last of four successful spacewalks began on 18 October at 16:00 GMT and ended at 22:56 GMT, lasting 6 hours and 56 minutes. Jeff Wisoff and Mike Lopez-Alegria each jetted slowly through space above Discovery's cargo bay.
After the space walk, Discovery completed the third and final reboost of the space station.
On 19 October the astronauts worked within the ISS. They completed connections for the newly installed Z1 external framework structure and transferred equipment and supplies for the Expedition One first resident crew of the Station. The crew also tested the four 290-kg gyroscopes in the truss, called Control Moment Gyros, which will be used to orient the ISS as it orbits the Earth. They will ultimately assume attitude control of the ISS following the arrival of the U.S. Laboratory Destiny. The tests and the transfer of supplies into the Russian Zarya Module took longer than expected. As a result, the crew's final departure from the Station's Unity module was delayed. Melroy and Wisoff took samples from surfaces in Zarya to study the module's environment. They then unclogged the solid waste disposal system in the Shuttle's toilet, which was restored to full operation after a brief interruption in service.
Discovery undocked from the ISS at 16:08 GMT on 20 October. The final separation burn was executed about 45 minutes after undocking. The crew had added 9 tonnes to the station's mass, bringing it to about 72 tonnes. The return to earth, planned for 22 October, was delayed repeatedly due to high winds at the Kennedy landing site. The landing was finally made at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 24, at 22:00 GMT. Additional Details: STS-92. References: 4 , 7 .
- 2000 Oct 13 - - 14:12 GMT. Nation: Russia. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Vehicle: Proton 8K82K / 11S861.
Three navigation satellites for the GLONASS system were launched by a single Proton-K/Blok DM-2 upper stage into an initial 160 km x 64.8 deg parking orbit. The Blok DM-2 made two burns to maneuver into a 19120 x 19120 km x 64.8 deg orbit and deployed the three satellites about four hours after launch.
- 2000 Oct 15 - Nation: USA.
The astronauts connected cables between Z1 and Unity, relocated the SASA S-band antenna on Z1, and deployed Z1's SGANT Ku-band antenna. They then took the port ETSD (EVA stowage) box from the Spacelab pallet and installed it on Z1.
- 2000 Oct 16 - Nation: USA.
Wakata aboard the shuttle used the RMS arm to unberth the PMA-3 docking unit from the SLP pallet at 16:14 GMT, and docked it to Unity at 17:40 GMT. Wisoff and Lopez-Alegria first unbolted PMA-3 from the SLP and then guided Wakata through the delicate alignment process as PMA-3 was removed from the bay and attached to the Station.
- 2000 Oct 16 - - 21:27 GMT. Nation: Russia. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC1. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U.
Progress docked with Mir, primarily to raise its orbit and preserve the option of a MirCorp-financed flight in 2001. However the funding never came through and the decision was taken to deorbit Mir. Progress M-43 undocked at 0519 GMT on January 25 from the +X Kvant port to clear it for Progress M1-5 (which would deorbit the Mir station). On January 29 Progress M-43 was in a 271 x 280 km x 51.6 deg orbit.
- 2000 Oct 17 - Nation: USA.
The astronauts installed two 58 kg DDCU DC-to-DC converter units atop the International Space Station's Z1 Truss. The DDCUs, will convert electricity generated by the solar arrays to be attached during the next shuttle mission. The spacewalkers also completed power cable connections on both the Z1 truss and newly installed docking port, PMA-3. They connected and reconfigured cables to route power from Pressurised Mating Adapter-2 to PMA-3 for the arrival of Endeavour and the STS-97 crew next month. They also attached a second tool storage box on the Z1 truss, providing a place to hold the tools and spacewalking aids for future assembly flights. McArthur stocked the boxes with tools and hardware that had been attached to the Unity module. STS-96 Astronauts Tammy Jernigan and Dan Barry had left the tools on the outside of Unity during a May 1999 spacewalk.
- 2000 Oct 18 - Nation: USA.
Jeff Wisoff and Mike Lopez-Alegria each jetted slowly through space above Discovery's cargo bay, demonstrating the small rescue nitrogen powered SAFER backpack (Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue). This would be used in the future to help a drifting astronaut regain the safety of the spacecraft. Each astronaut performed one 15 meter flight with the SAFER while attached to the shuttle with a long tether. Lopez-Alegria and Wisoff, with Koichi Wakata operating the arm, also completed a series of wrap-up tasks during the EVA. They removed a grapple fixture from the Z1 truss, opened and closed a latch assembly that will hold the solar array truss when it arrives, deployed a tray that will be used to provide power to the U.S. Laboratory Destiny, and tested the manual berthing mechanism latches that will support Destiny. Wisoff opened and closed the latches on the capture assembly for the P6 solar arrays using a pistol grip tool. With it he made more than 125 turns to open the latches, then closed and reopened them. He left the capture latch, called 'the claw,' ready to receive the solar arrays, to be installed by the STS-97 crew. An exercise to test techniques for returning an incapacitated astronaut to the air lock was cancelled because of time constraints.
- 2000 Oct 20 - Nation: USA. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Complex: SLC36A. Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIA. LV Configuration: Atlas IIA s/n AC-140.
The US Air Force Defense Satellite Communications System satellite was placed by the Centaur upper stage into a 148 km x 898 km x 29.3 deg parking orbit. A second burn put it into a 218 km x 35,232 km x 26.0 deg transfer orbit. The DSCS III B-11 IABS-8 apogee stage, with two Primex R4D liquid apogee engines, circularised the orbit at geostationary altitude on October 21 and then separated from the DSCS. References: 4 .
- 2000 Oct 21 - Nation: USA. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC81L. Launch Vehicle: Proton 8K82K / DM3.
Stationed at 72 deg W. The GE 6 was a Lockheed Martin A2100 series satellite with a mass of 3552 kg at launch and 1900 kg dry. It was to provide broadcast and data services in North America. The DM3 upper stage made two burns and placed the GE 6 in a 5850 x 35726 km x 18.7 deg intermediate transfer orbit at 0441 UTC on October 22. References: 4 .
Stationed at 44 deg E. The first Boeing GEM satellite, Thuraya 1, was built by Boeing/El Segundo (formerly Hughes). It was based on the HS-702 design but featured a large 12-m diameter truss antenna for L-band mobile telephone service. Launch mass of Thuraya was 5108 kg; dry mass probably around 3000 kg. The satellite was to be delivered after on orbit testing to Etisalat, the Emirates Telecom Corp of Abu Dhabi, and its Thuraya Satellite subsidiary. Thuraya was launched from the Odyssey platform in the Pacific Ocean positioned on the equator at 154 deg W. The two-stage Yuzhnoe Zenit core delivered Thuraya and its Energiya Blok DM-SL upper stage to a -2212 x 182 km suborbital trajectory. The first DM-SL burn placed the stack in a 180 x 200 km x 6.3 deg parking orbit at 0604 GMT; a second burn at 0733 GMTput Thuraya in a 210 x 35891 km x 6.3 deg geostationary transfer orbit. A later depletion burn lowered the DM-SL stage perigee to 180 km, as burns by Thuraya's liquid engine raised it towards geosynchronous orbit. References: 4 .
- 2000 Oct 29 - Nation: UK. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Complex: ELA2. Launch Vehicle: Ariane 44LP. LV Configuration: Ariane 44LP s/n V134.
Stationed at 45 deg E. Europe*Star FM1 was a Loral FS-1300 model with a launch mass of 4167 kg and a dry mass of 1717 kg. The satellite had two cruciform solar arrays. The Ariane booster placed it into a geostationary transfer orbit. References: 4 .
- 2000 Oct 30 - Nation: China. Launch Site: Xichang . Launch Complex: LC2. Launch Vehicle: CZ-3A. LV Configuration: CZ-3A s/n CZ3A-5.
Stationed at 140 deg E. Beidou was China's first experimental navigation technology satellite, developed by CAST/Beijing. The satellite was placed in an initial 195 x 41889 km x 25.0 deg orbit geostationary transfer orbit before entering its final geosynchornous orbit at around 0500 GMT on November 6. Beidou is the Chinese name for the Big Dipper constellation. References: 4 .
- 2000 Oct 31 - - 07:53 GMT. Nation: Russia. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC1. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U.
Soyuz 31 delivered the Expedition One crew to the International Space Station with Gidzenko as the Soyuz crew commander with the call-sign 'Uran'. The spacecraft docked at Zvezda's rear port at 0921 GMT on November 2. The hatch to Zvezda was opened at 1023 GMT. Once aboard ISS, Shepherd became the ISS Commander, with 'Station Alpha' as the ISS callsign. Soyuz TM-31, with Shepherd, Gidzenko and Krikalyov aboard, undocked from the -Y port on Zvezda on February 24, 2001 at 1006 GMT and redocked with the -Z port on Zarya at 1037 GMT. This freed the Zvezda port for a Progress resupply ship. References: 4 .
- 2000 Nov 2 - Nation: USA. Launch Site: Edwards .
The first space flight by X-38 vehicle V-201 was scheduled for 2002 at the time of this test; later ISS budget cutbacks would impact this plan.
- 2000 Nov 10 - Nation: USA. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Complex: SLC17A. Launch Vehicle: Delta 7925. LV Configuration: Delta 7925 s/n D281.
Navstar GPS SVN41 was the sixth Block IIR satellite. The Delta stage 2 entered a 153 x 418 km x 37 deg parking orbit followed by a 172 x 1144 km second orbit; the PAM-D solid upper stage then fired to give SVN 41 a 20457 km apogee. The GPS Block 2R satellites were built by Lockheed Martin and use a Thiokol Star 37FM solid kick motor. The kick motor was fired prior to November 13 to enter a circular 20000 km orbit. References: 4 .
- 2000 Nov 16 - Nation: Germany. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Complex: ELA3. Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5. LV Configuration: Ariane 5G s/n V135/507.
The long-delayed Phase 3D amateur radio satellite, built by AMSAT-DL (Germany), was renamed AMSAT-Oscar-40 (AO-40) once launched. It carried an MBB S400 liquid engine (the backup engine for the Galileo Jupiter probe) and a variety of amateur radio payloads in L, S, C, X, V, U and K bands, as well as an ammonia arcjet thruster and a laser communications experiment. The satellite was the largest amateur satellite orbited to date and the first to feature deployable solar panels. Mass was 397 kg dry. The PAS 1R, STRV 1c/1d, and AMSAT Phase 3D satellites were placed in orbit on a single Ariane launch. At 0149 GMT the SBS cylindrical adapter which connected PAS-1R to AMSAT was jettisoned; 50 seconds later AMSAT separated from the EPS upper stage. Thereafter the spacecraft could not be contacted. Finally telemetry was received from after two weeks of silence, confirming that the satellite was still functioning. References: 4 .
Stationed at 58 deg W. PAS 1R was a large Boeing Model 702 satellite with a dry mass of about 3000 kg (launch mass 4793 kg) and a solar panel span of 45m. It carried 36 C and 48 Ku-band transponders. PAS 1R was operated by Panamsat, whose fleet included the former Hughes Galaxy system. The PAS 1R, STRV 1c/1d, and AMSAT Phase 3D satellites were placed in orbit on a single Ariane launch. The EPS stage entered geostationary transfer orbit at 0134 GMT, followed by separation of the PAS 1R main payload. References: 4 .
- 2000 Nov 16 - Nation: Russia. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC1. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U.
Progress M1-4 was an unmanned resupply craft that rendezvoused with the International Space Station on November 18. After problems with the automatic system, ISS Expedition 1 crew member Gidzenko took over manual control with the remote TORU system at 0302 GMT. The first docking attempt was aborted when M1-4 was only 5 m from the station at 0309 GMT. On the second attempt docking was successfully achieved at 0348 GMT at Zarya's nadir port. The problem on the first attempt was icing of the TORU system TV camera on the Progress when the spacecraft was in shadow. Progress M1-4 undocked from ISS at 1623 GMT on December 1. Following the mission of STS-97 Progress M1-4 redocked to Zarya's nadir port on December 26 at 1054 GMT. The redocking tested a fix to the software that caused problems in the vehicle's first docking attempt on November 18. Yuri Gidzenko completed the docking manually using the remote control TORU system. Progress M1-4 undocked from Zarya's nadir port for the last time at 1126 GMT on February 8. It was deorbited over the Pacific and reentered at 1350 GMT the same day. References: 4 .
- 2000 Nov 16 - Nation: UK. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Complex: ELA3. Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5. LV Configuration: Ariane 5G s/n V135/507.
The two small STRV cubes were then ejected from the Ariane EPS stage ASAP-5 secondary payload structure at 0141 GMT. STRV-1c and 1d were small satellites built by the DERA (former Royal Aircraft Establishment), Farnborough, England. Mass was around 95 kg each. STRV-1c performed accelerated life testing of new components and materials in the high radiation environment of geosynchronous transfer orbit. References: 4 .
STRV-1c and 1d were small satellites built by the DERA (former Royal Aircraft Establishment), Farnborough, England. Mass was around 95 kg each. STRV-1d carries an NRL Space Test Program experiment (S97-2), a camera, and technology and computer experiments. References: 4 .
- 2000 Nov 20 - Nation: USA. Launch Site: Plesetsk . Launch Complex: LC132/1. Launch Vehicle: Kosmos 11K65M. FAILURE: Second stage failed to restart at apogee.
The Kosmos-3M second stage entered an 81 x 614 km x 65.8 deg orbit but failed to restart at apogee, and reentered at the next perigee over Uruguay. The loss of the QuickBird 1 satellite was a heavy blow to EarthWatch Inc. QuickBird1 was a 1-m resolution commerical imaging satellite using a Ball Aerospace BCP-2000 bus. Their earlier satellite, EarlyBird, failed after a few days in orbit in December 1997. EarthWatch's rival, SpaceImaging, lost one satellite as well but its second Ikonos was operating in orbit. References: 4 .
- 2000 Nov 21 - Nation: Canada. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Complex: ELA2. Launch Vehicle: Ariane 44L. LV Configuration: Ariane 44L s/n V136.
Anik F1 was a Telesat Canada communications satellite. The Boeing model 702 satellite had a launch mass of 4852 kg and a dry mass of 2950 kg. It carried 36 C-band and 48 Ku-band transponders. References: 4 .
- 2000 Nov 21 - Nation: USA. Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Complex: SLC2W. Launch Vehicle: Delta 7925. LV Configuration: Delta 7320 s/n D282.
The Earth Orbiter 1 satellite was part of NASA's New Millenium Program. Complementing the New Millenium's Deep Space series, EO-1 was a NASA-Goddard satellite which demonstrated technology for the next generation Landsat. It flew in formation with Landsat-7 for comparison purposes, using a hydrazine thruster to adjust its orbit. The satellite used a MIDEX-derived bus built by Swales Aerospace; dry mass was 566 kg. The main instruments were ALI (Advanced Land Imager) and the Hyperion 220-band imaging spectrometer. At 1835 GMT the Delta second stage completed its first burn and entered a 185 x 713 km x 98.2 deg transfer orbit. At 1920 GMT the orbit was circularised and EO-1 separated at 1925 GMT into a 682 x 729 km x 98.2 deg orbit. References: 4 .
The small 6 kg Munin nanosatellite was built by Swedish students in collaboration with the Swedish Insitute for Space Physics (IRF) and carried a particle detector, a spectrometer, and an auroral camera. After deployment of EO-1 and SAC-C a fourth burn put the Delta second stage in a 697 x 1800 km x 95.4 deg orbit, after which Munin was ejected from the stage. References: 4 .
The SAC-C Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas C was developed by the Argentine space agency CONAE and built by the Argentine company INVAP. The 467 kg satellite carried a battery of earth observing instruments for Argentine forestry and agriculture studies. SAC-C also carried a NASA experiment which used the distortion of GPS signals observed near the horizon to derive atmospheric conditions. The DPAF dual payload support structure, derived from Ariane's SPELDA, was ejected after deployment of the EO-1 satellite from the Delta stage to reveal SAC-C. After a further Delta burn SAC-C was ejected at 1955 GMT into a 687 x 707 km x 98.3 deg orbit. References: 4 .
- 2000 Nov 30 - Nation: Europe. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC81L. Launch Vehicle: Proton 8K82K / DM3. LV Configuration: Proton 8K82K s/n 402-02.
Stationed at 66 deg W. The third Sirius digital radio broadcast satellite was a Loral FS-1300 series vehicle and was placed in an initial elliptical 63 degree orbit by the Proton upper stage. References: 4 .
- 2000 Dec 1 - - 03:06 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Complex: LC39B. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. LV Configuration: STS-97.
Endeavour was launched on an assembly mission to the to the International Space Station. The external tank and the Orbiter entered a 74 x 325 km orbit at 0314 GMT. Endeavour's OMS burn raised its perigee to 205 km at around 0347 GMT; the ET re-entered over the Pacific. Endeavour docked with the Station's PMA-3 docking port at 1959 GMT on December 2. Astronauts then installed the P6 solar panel truss to the station during a series of spacewalks. The P6 was made up of the LS (Long Spacer), PV-1 IEA (Integrated Equipment Assembly) and the PVAA (Photovoltaic Array). The LS carried two Thermal Control Systems with radiators to eject waste heat from the Station; these radiators were to be moved to truss segments S4 and S6 later in assembly. The PVAA had solar array wings SAW-2B and SAW-4B, which deployed to a span of 73 meters. Only after completion of three station assembly space walks on December 3, 5, and 7 did the Endeavour crew enter the station (at 1436 GMT on December 8), delivering supplies to Alpha's Expedition One crew. Hatches were closed again at 1551 GMT December 9, and Endeavour undocked at 1913 GMT the same day. After one flyaround of the station, Endeavour fired its engines to depart the vicinity at 2017 GMT December 9. The deorbit burn was at 2158 GMT on December 11, changing the orbit from 351 x 365 km to 27 x 365 km, with landing at Runway 15 of Kennedy Space Center at 2303 GMT.
The payload bay of Endeavour for STS-97 contained a total cargo of 18740 kg:
References: 4 .
- 2000 Dec 3 - Nation: USA.
The first STS-97 spacewalk began with airlock depress and hatch open at 1831 GMT on December 3. The suits went to battery power at 1835 GMT and Joe Tanner and Carlos Noriega left the airlock around 1845 GMT. Around 1932 GMT the RMS arm berthed P6 on the Z1 truss, and the astronauts manually latched it in place by 1940 GMT. There were some problems releasing latches on the solar array wings, but the first solar array began to deploy at 0123 GMT on December 4. This was the "starboard" (+X) array, wing SAW-2B. The port (-X) array, SAW-4B, was left undeployed. The astronauts closed the hatch at 0202 GMT on Dec 4 and repressurized at 0209 GMT. The P6 PVR radiator was deployed on the +Y side of the IEA at 0414 GMT on December 4. The SAW-4B wing was deployed starting at 0052 GMT on December 5.
- 2000 Dec 5 - Nation: Israel. Launch Site: Svobodniy . Launch Complex: LC5. Launch Vehicle: Start-1.
The Israeli commercial imaging satellite EROS A1 was owned by ImageSat (an Israeli-led company registered in the Netherlands Antilles) and built by IAI using the Ofeq-3 design. EROS A1 was placed in a 491 x 506 km x 97.3 deg sun-synchronous orbit together with the DS 5th stage. References: 4 .
- 2000 Dec 5 - Nation: USA.
The spacewalk began on December 5 with depress at 1718 GMT, hatch open around 1719 GMT and battery power at 1721 GMT. Repress was at 2358 GMT. The astronauts connected up P6 to the station, inspected the tension wires on wing 2B, and relocated the S-band antenna to the top of P6. They unlatched the aft TCS radiator, which was deployed sometime early on December 6.
- 2000 Dec 6 - Nation: USA. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Complex: SLC36A. Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS. LV Configuration: Atlas IIAS s/n AC-157.
USA 155 was a classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite. The Centaur placed the payload in a 176 x 831 km parking orbit and then in a 270 x 37490 km x 26.5 deg geostationary transfer orbit. The spacecraft was probably either a data relay satellite (to relay spy satellite imagery and data to the ground) or a signals intelligence satellite. References: 4 .
- 2000 Dec 7 - Nation: USA.
Astronauts Noriega and Tanner on December 7 performed EVA-3 to fix the tension in the SAW-2B solar array on the Station. Airlock depress was at 1609 GMT, hatch open at 1610 GMT and battery power at 1613 GMT. The astronauts left the airlock a few minutes later, probably about 1620 GMT. After fixing the solar array they installed the FPPU device to measure plasma conditions near the top of P6 and performed a few other minor tasks. They returned to the airlock at around 2110 GMT, closing the hatch at 2119 and repressurizing at 2122.
- 2000 Dec 20 - Nation: Europe. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Complex: ELA3. Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5. LV Configuration: Ariane 5G s/n V138/508.
Astra 2D was a Boeing 376HP spin-stabilised satellite, with a dry mass of around 700 kg. It was owned by the Luxembourg-based company SES and was to broadcast to the British Isles. Astra 2D was in a 292 x 35835 km x 2.2 deg transfer orbit on December 22 and was subsequently boosted into geosynchronous orbit by its Star 30 apogee kick motor. References: 4 .
- 2000 Dec 20 - Nation: China. Launch Site: Xichang . Launch Complex: LC2. Launch Vehicle: CZ-3A. LV Configuration: CZ-3A s/n CZ3A-6.
This was the second Beidou geosynchronous navigation satellite. The CZ-3A rocket's third stage put Beidou in geostationary transfer orbit at around 1642 GMT. The Beidou satellite was based on the DFH-3 comsat and had a mass of around 2200 kg including its FY-25 solid apogee motor. On December 25 Beidou was in a 190 x 41870 km x 25.0 deg transfer orbit. References: 4 .
- 2000 Dec 20 - Nation: USA. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Complex: ELA3. Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5. LV Configuration: Ariane 5G s/n V138/508.
GE 8 was a C-band TV and data distribution satellite for GE Americom. The Lockheed Martin A2100A spacecraft had a launch mass of 2015 kg, a dry mass of 919 kg, and was equipped with 24 C-band transponders. By December 26 GE 8 had reached an 18656 x 35760 km x 0.4 deg orbit on its way to geostationary orbit. It was jointly owned by AT&T Alascom for Alaskan communications, and was also called Aurora III. Americom and Alascom were originally both RCA subsidiaries. Alascom continued to use the Americom network while GE operated the satellite. References: 4 .
Ariane V138's EPS upper stage carried an ASAP5 small payload attachment ring with a special camera system and the LDREX experimental antenna for Japan's NASDA space agency. LDREX was a 6-m diameter antenna which was to have deployed 40 minutes after launch, to test the deployment mechanism for the larger antenna to be used on the ETS-8 satellite. After the test the antenna was to have been jettisoned. However the experiment failed and no deployment or jettison took place. References: 4 .
- 2000 Dec 27 - Nation: Russia. Launch Site: Plesetsk . Launch Complex: LC32. Launch Vehicle: Tsyklon 3. FAILURE: The S5M third stage failed and the vehicle crashed a few thousand km
downrange near Wrangel Island.
Failed to orbit. References: 4 .
Failed to orbit. References: 4 .
Failed to orbit. References: 4 .
Failed to orbit. References: 4 .
Failed to orbit. References: 4 .
Failed to orbit. References: 4 .
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