Status
Success
Rocket
Mission Details
OAO-3
The Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO) satellites were a series of four American space observatories launched by NASA which provided the first high-quality observations of many objects in ultraviolet light. Although two OAO missions were failures, the success of the other two increased awareness within the astronomical community of the benefits of space-based observations, and led to the instigation of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Total Mass: 2,204.0 kg
Low Earth Orbit
Location
SLC-36B, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA
Stats
1972
69th orbital launch attempt
Atlas-Centaur
29th mission
4th mission of 1972
21st successful mission
6th consecutive successful mission