Air Force declares Milstar launch a mission failure

Bill T Bard (wtba@eci-esyst.com)
Tue, 4 May 1999 13:10:58 -0400 

--0__=p6VwiClFzno55BArdaFP3fbsyyTYt0RJvaGWmWSjtBu3vTlh6IWpCXhK
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Disposition: inline





      Air Force Space Command News Release

      PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. - The Air Force has declared the Titan
      IVB/Centaur launch of the Milstar Flight-3 satellite a mission
failure. The satellite was
      launched at 12:30 p.m. EDT on April 30, from Cape Canaveral Air
Station, Fla. An
      accident investigation board has been appointed to look into the
cause of the mishap,
      which left the Milstar satellite in an abnormally low Earth orbit.

      Milstar controllers have stabilized the satellite and successfully
deployed the solar
      arrays. The batteries are fully charged. Although it is too soon to
speculate on the
      final disposition of the spacecraft, a team of Air Force and industry
 experts continues
      to work around the clock to analyze data and command the satellite.

      Shortly after Friday
--0__=p6VwiClFzno55BArdaFP3fbsyyTYt0RJvaGWmWSjtBu3vTlh6IWpCXhK
Content-type: text/plain; charset=windows-1257
Content-Disposition: inline
Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable


=92s launch, operators determined that the Milstar
satellite was not
      in the intended 23,300 mile geosynchronous orbit. Its current orb=
it
is elliptical,
      approximately 400 miles by 2700 miles. In this orbit it poses no
threat of
      uncontrolled re-entry.

      Air Force Space Command is assembling an Accident Investigation B=
oard
 to
      determine the cause of the mishap. The board will be led by Col. =
Greg
 Pavlovich,
      Commander of the 341st Space Wing, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont=
.
The team
      will begin its investigation at Cape Canaveral Air Station this w=
eek.


      Satellite controllers from the Space and Missile Systems Center, =
Los
Angeles Air
      Force Base, Calif.; the 50th Space Wing, Schriever Air Force Base=
,
Colo., and
      Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space, Sunnyvale, Calif., continue t=
o
assess the status
      and future of the Milstar Flight-3 satellite.
=

--0__=p6VwiClFzno55BArdaFP3fbsyyTYt0RJvaGWmWSjtBu3vTlh6IWpCXhK--