 | APMTE Hughes
Credit - Hughes
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Code Name: Mercury. Class: SIGINT. Destination: Geosynchronous Orbit. Nation: USA. Agency: USAF. Class of heavy signals intelligence satellites introduced at the end of the 1990's. Typical orbit: 35785 km circular orbit, 0 deg inclination.
Mercury ELINT Chronology - 1994 August 27 - USA 105 - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: LC41. Launch Vehicle: Titan. Perigee: 35,780 km (22,230 mi). Apogee: 35,790 km (22,230 mi). Inclination: 0.00 deg. Period: 1,436.10 min.
First launch of Mercury ELINT satellite.
- 1996 April 24 - USA 118 - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: LC41. Launch Vehicle: Titan. Perigee: 30,000 km (18,000 mi).
Second launch of Mercury ELINT satellite.
- 1998 August 12 - Mercury ELINT - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: LC41. Launch Vehicle: Titan. FAILURE: Due to guidance system loss of heading after power interrupt, booster pitched over 40 seconds after launch, and was destroyed by range safety.
Third launch of Mercury ELINT satellite.
Bibliography:- McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page (launch records), Harvard University, 1997-present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
- JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Web Address when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.
- McDowell, Jonathon, Quest, "US Reconnaissance Satellite Programs Part 2", 1995, Volume 4, Issue 4, page 49.
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© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.
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