NEXT SPACEFLIGHT

Status

Success

OV1-2

Launch Time
Tue Oct 05, 1965 09:07 UTC

Rocket

Atlas-D OV1
Image Credit: USAF or NASA
General Dynamics
Status: Retired
Liftoff Thrust: 1,880 kN
Stages: 2
Strap-ons: 0

Mission Details

OV1-2

Orbiting Vehicle 1-2 (also known as OV1-2), launched 5 October 1965, was the third, and first successful, satellite in the OV1 series of the United States Air Force's Orbiting Vehicle program. A radiation-measuring satellite designed to conduct research for the planned Manned Orbital Laboratory project, OV1-2 was the first American spacecraft to be placed into orbit on a western (retrograde to Earth's rotation) trajectory. The satellite stopped functioning in April 1967 after a series of technical problems starting two months after launch.

Payloads: 1
Total Mass: 86.0 kg
Medium Earth Orbit

Location

LC-576B3, Vandenberg SFB, California, USA

Stats

1965

88th orbital launch attempt

Atlas-OV1

3rd mission
3rd mission of 1965
1st successful mission
1st consecutive successful mission