May 26 1977
From The Space Library
NASA launched INTELSAT IVA F-4, third in the series of INTELSAT IVA global comsats, from Cape Kennedy on an Atlas Centaur at 5:47pm EDT into a transfer orbit with 35,904.4km apogee, 548.9km perigee, 21.8° inclination, and 641.87min period. ComSatCorp, U.S. member of the Intl. Telecommunications Satellite Corp. (INTELSAT) and its management services contractor, fired the apogee kick motor at 8:50pm EDT May 27 over the western Pacific, putting the spacecraft into a nearcircular synchronous orbit at about 35 784km (22 240mi) altitude to drift eastward to its station over the Atlantic at 34.5°W after a mo of communications tests. INTELSAT, owner of the comsat series, would reimburse NASA for costs of the launch vehicle and launch services.
The Hughes Aircraft-built spacecraft weighing 1515kg (33401b) at liftoff measured about 7m (23ft) tall and 2.4m (8ft) in diameter and carried a new design of antenna that would provide coverage from Central America to Iran by using shaped beams. The 320MHz bandwidths pointing east and west were sufficiently isolated to allow the frequency spectrum to be used twice, once eastward and once westward, doubling the use of that spectrum. The spacecraft with a 7yr lifetime would offer about 6250 two-way voice circuits plus 2 TV channels, two-thirds more capacity than that of the INTELSAT IV series. It would initially serve as backup to the two Atlantic area comsats, INTELSAT IVA F-I at 24.5°W and INTELSAT IVA F--2 at 29.5°W. (NASA Release 77-99; KSC Release 103-77; MORE-491-633-77-03 [prelaunch] May 20/77, [postlaunch] Aug 30/77; INTELSAT Release 77-11-M)
DFRC announced that the first manned test flight of the Space Shuttle orbiter, previously scheduled for May 26, had been postponed to a date no earlier than June 9, depending on successful completion of orbiter ground tests. The manned test would begin the second phase of Shuttle approach and landing trials to verify aerodynamic and flight-control characteristics of the orbiter. Cause of the postponement was delay in orbiter systems checkout and verification testing after completion in March of the first flights of the orbiter linked to its 747 carrier. (DFRC Release 18-77)
KSC announced it had awarded to Planning Research Corporation, McLean, Va., a $25 720 364 contract extension for engineering support services to the Space Shuttle program and other activities where the design-engineering directorate at KSC had design responsibilities. The 12mo cost-plus-award-fee extension through May 1978 had brought the value of the contract originally awarded in May 1974 to $72 616 061. The company employed more than 1100 workers at KSC and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Fla., and at DFRC and KSC's Western Launch Operations Division in Calif. (KSC Release 111-77)
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