telstar 3a press kit

8/7/2019 Telstar 3A Press Kit

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25th AnniversaryNational Aeronautics and 1958-1983Space,AdministrationWashington. D.C. 20546AC 202 755-8370

David Garrett ForReeseHeadquarters, Washington, D.C. IMMEDIATE(Phone: 202/755-3090)Jim BallKennedy Space Center, Fla.(Phone: 305/867-2468)Charles RecknagelGoddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.(Phone: 301/344-5566)

RELEASE NO: 83-110

NASA TO LAUNCH TELSTAR 3A COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE

Telstar 3A communications satellite is scheduled for launchby NASA on July 28 aboard a Delta 171 rocket from Launch Complex17A on the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

There are three "windows", or launch opportunities, on thatdate: from 6:21 to 6:57 p.m. EDr; 7:30 to 7:43 p.m. EDT; andfrom 8:15 to 9:39 p.m. EDT.

The Telstar 3A satellite, owned by AT&T (American Telephoneand Telegraph Ccmpany) Long Lines Department, is the first in anew series of three domestic communications satellites providingtelevision, telephone, and information transmission services tothe continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

July 20, 1093

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The company's Telstar 1 satellite, launched 21 years agothis month, was the world's first satellite built with privatefunds. The 170-pound spacecraft was the first active repeatersatellite and it relayed the first trans-Atlantic televisionexchange via satellite.

A second AT&T-built Telstar was launched a year later in May1963.

The new Telstar series will supplement and later replacethree of four COMSTAR communications satellites which AT&T cur-rently leases from Comsat. The COMSTARs have lifetime expectan-cies ending in 1984, 1985 and 1988.

Following the launch of Telstar 3A, two other Telstar 3satellites are scheduled for launch from the Space Shuttle in1984 and 1985.

Telstar 3A will be positioned in a geostationary orbitapproximately 35,880 kilometers (22,300 miles) above the equatorat 96 degrees west longitude. This orbital station is locatedabove the Pacific Ocean at a point due south of Houston, Texas,and just west of the Galapagos Islands. It will operate in the6/4 Ghz C band and has a design lifetime of at least 10 years.

Telstar 3A carries a total of 24 transponders, plus sixspares, to cover the 48 contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii andPuerto Rico.

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Each transponder has 5.5 watts of power, and can relay one

color TV signal (up to 60 million bits per second) or up to 3,900

normal. two-way telephone calls. By contrast, Telstar 1was cap-

able of providing 600 one-way voice channels or one televisionchannel.

Delta 171, a 3920/Payload Assist Module (PAM) version of thelaunch vehicle, will boost the Telstar 3A into space. The vehicleconsists of an Extended Long Tank First Stage (the thrust of its

Rocketdyne RS-27 engine augmentedby nine Castor IV strap-on

solid motors); the new improved Aerojet AJ10-118K second stage;and a Payload Assist Module which functions as the final stage.

The entire vehicle is a uniform 2.4 meters (8 feet) indiameter (excluding the strap-on solid motors) and 35.35 m (116ft.) in height. McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Corp., HuntingtonBeach, Calif., is the prime contractor for production and launchof the Delta vehicle.

Following launch by the first two stages of the Delta 3920,Telstar 3A will be inserted into an elliptical transfer orbit bythe Payload Assist Module, rather than a conventional thirdstage. The Payload Assist Module, built by McDonnell Douglas,is attached to the satellite. To produce a near-geostationaryorbit, an apogee kick motor mounted in the satellite itself willbe fired on the fourth apogee.

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Positioning of the spacecraft will be accomplished using thesatellite's on-board attitude-positioning gas system. An AT&Tsatellite control center at Hawley, Pa., will dire-t Telstar 3Athrough transfer orbit to its final position in geostationaryorbit. Once the satellite reaches its assigned position, sub-system testing and station-keeping activities will be carried outby AT&T.

Telstar 3A has a diameter of 216 centimeters (85 in.) andis 277 cm (109 in.) high when stowed aboard its Delta launchvehicle. In orbit, the aft solar panel deploys and the antennareflector erects for a combined height of 683 cm (269 in.), orthe equivalent of a two-story building. The satellite weighsabout 1,225 kilograms (2,700 pounds) on the ground and 663 kg(1,438 lb.) in orbit.

Nominal orbit characteristics for Telstar 3A are:

Apogee Altitude: 37,293 km (23,173 mi.)Perigee Altitude: 185 km (115 mi.)Inclination: 23 degreesArgument of Perigee: 179 degreesOperational orbit: 35,880 km (22,300 mi.)

Station Longitude: 96 degrees W.

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NASA INDUSTRY LAUNCH TEAM

NASA Headquarters

Lt.Gen. J. A. Abrahamson Associate Administrator forSpace Flight

Robert E. Smylie Associate Administrator forSpace Tracking and Data Systems

Joseph B. Mahon Directcr, Special ProgramsPeter Eaton Chief, Expendable LaunchVehicle Programs

Henry Clarks Delta Program Manager.

Goddard Space Flight CenterDr. Noel W. Hinners DirectorJohn J. Quann Deputy DirectorWilliam C. Keathley Director, Project ManagementRobert C. Baumann Acting DeltaProject ManagerWilliam A. Russell, Jr. Deputy Delta Project ManagerJ. Donald Kraft Manager, Delta Mission Analysis

and IntegrationRichard H. Sclafford Telstar 3A Mission IntegrationManagerRobert I. Seiders Network Support ManagerRalph Banning Network Director

Kennedy Space CenterRichard G. Smith DirectorThomas S. Walton Director, Cargo OperationsCharles D. Gay Director, Expendable VehiclesOperationsWayne L. McCall Chief, Delta OperationsDivisionJim Weir Head, Cargo Support BranchArt Sawyer Spacecraft Coordinator

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CONTRACTORS

McDonnell Douglas Delta Launch VehicleAstronauitics Co.Huntington Beach, Calif.Rocketdyne Division First Stage Engine (RS-27)Rockwell InternationalCanoga Park, Calif.Morton Thiokol Corp. Castor IV Strap-on SolidHuntsville, Ala. Fuel MotorsAerojet Liquid Rocket AJ10-118K (ITIP) Second StageSacramento, Calif. Engine

General Motors Corp. Guidance ComputerDelco DivisionSanta Barbara, Calif.McDonnell Douglas Payload Assist Module (PAM)Astronautics Co. Third StageHuntington Beach, Calif.

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telstar 3a press kit

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