Intelsat III F-5 was a

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Rad ...

intended to be operated by

Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (formerly Intel-Sat, Intelsat) is a Luxembourgish-American multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons, Virginia, United States. Originally formed ...

. Launched towards

geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular orbit, circular geosynchronous or ...

in 1969 it failed to achieve orbit.

Design

The fifth of eight Intelsat III satellites to be launched, Intelsat III F-5 was built by TRW. It was a spacecraft equipped with two

transponder In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...

s to be powered by body-mounted solar cells generating 183 watts of power. It had a design life of five years and carried an SVM-2 apogee motor for propulsion.

Launch

Intelsat III F-5 was launched by a Delta M rocket, flying from Launch Complex 17A at the

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the sta ...

. The launch took place on July 26, 1969, with the spacecraft bound for a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Due to a failure in the third phase of the launch process, the satellite did not reach the desired orbit.

References

{{Orbital launches in 1968 Intelsat satellites Spacecraft launched in 1969 1969 in spaceflight Satellite launch failures

Design

Launch

See also

References