Mar 22 1969
From The Space Library
Cosmos CCLXXIII was launched by U.S.S.R. into orbit with 335-km (208.2-mi) apogee, 199-km (123.6-mi) perigee, 89.8-min period, and 65.4° inclination. Satellite reentered March 30. (GSFC SSR, 3/31/69)
Five segments of Apollo 9's 6,500,000-lb "stack" remained in space, making total 1,613 objects floating in earth orbit after Apollo 9, said James J. Haggerty, Jr., in Armed Forces Journal. Descent stage of LM, in eccentric low orbit, would soon be captured by earth gravity and burn on reentry; ascent stage might remain in high orbit 20 yrs, along with LM adapter GSFC reported later that LM descent stage had reentered March 22; ascent stage was still in orbit]. S-IVB 3rd stage mated to instrument unit was directed into solar orbit. Of 1,613 orbiting objects listed by NORAD, 356 were payloads, both active and expired. Remaining 1,257 pieces were debris. Items in solar orbit included 3rd-stage and instrument-unit combinations from Apollo 8 and 9, four U.S. Pioneers and Mariner VI still sending useful data, and U.S. and U.S.S.R. planetary explorers launched before 1969. About 20 solar orbiting objects would remain in space a long time, along with 28 spacecraft which had crashed on other celestial bodies, including U.S.S.R's Venus III and IV on Venus, 9 Soviet Lunas, 5 U.S. Rangers, 7 Surveyors, and 5 Lunar Orbiters. (AFJ, 3/22/69, 15; GSFC SSR, 3/31/69)
DOD announced name of planned U.S. antiballistic missile defense had officially been changed from Sentinel to Safeguard. (AP, W Star, 3/23/69, A4)
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