Oct 27 1977
From The Space Library
NASA launched the Navy's Transat spacecraft at 9:52pm PDT from the Western Test Range on a Scout vehicle into an orbit' with 600.7nmi apogee, 572.6nmi perigee, 89.9° inclination, and 106.9min period. The spacecraft, a modified Transit navigation satellite, would join 5 others in a system being used by U.S. Navy and other ships for global navigation, as the first to carry 2 modified transponders with a capability called Satrack to support Trident (fleet ballistic missile) development.
Built by Johns Hopkins Univ. Applied Physics Laboratory, Transat would receive, translate, and relay NavStar global-positioning signals simulating a Trident missile in flight, to evaluate Satrack procedures before using them in Trident test flights and to check out Satrack processing at JHU/APL. NASA had agreed with DOD in Jan. 1970 to launch Scouts, carrying 15 Transit satellites and 3 Transit Improvement Program (TIP) satellites so far, the Navy to reimburse NASA for the launch vehicles, launch services, and mission support. The Transit system normally operated 5 satellites, with 2 on standby. (Langley Researcher, Nov 28/77, 2; MOR M-490-601-77-03 [prelaunch] Sept 30/77)
NASA's launch participation was judged successful as of Nov. 8-10. (MOR M-490-601-77-03 [postlaunch] Nov 15/77)
IBIS reported that the USSR had completed aeries of rocket launches in cooperation with France to compare procedures and instruments used by the two countries in high-altitude atmosphere sounding. The rockets were launched simultaneously from the French space center at Kourou, French Guiana, and offshore from the Soviet research vessel Akademik Korolev recently at work with the U.S. off the Atlantic coast. (FBIS, Tass in English, Oct 27/77)
INTELSAT announced that the People's Republic of the Congo had become the 100th member of the organization Oct. 26, and the 26th African nation to join. Created in 1964 with an initial membership of 11 nations, INTELSAT was providing communications service through 132 stations in 86 countries. (INTELSAT Release '77-27-I)
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