ConvairAtlas SLV-3D CentaurLaunch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Comstar 1D
Launched
February 21, 1981
Image: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Summary
Comstar 1D launched on a Convair Atlas SLV-3D Centaur from Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA on February 21, 1981. It was Convair's 1st launch, 1st this year and humanity's 2,410th orbital launch attempt. It was the 26th Atlas SLV-3D Centaur flight and the 1st this year. The payload was bound for Geostationary Orbit (Direct-GEO). Comstar 204, one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 553 × 35,795 km orbit inclined 28.7°. 2 objects from this launch are catalogued, one of them a payload.
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Vehicle
- Atlas SLV-3D Centaur · Convair
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Communications · Geostationary Orbit (Direct-GEO)
- Milestone
- 26th Atlas SLV-3D Centaur flight · 1st this yearConvair's 1st launch1st this yearhumanity's 2,410th orbital launch attempt19th orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Comstar 204 · NORAD 12309 · 1981-018 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 2 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- COMSTAR 4
- Object ID
- 1981-018A
- Epoch
- 1981-02-21 22:40:53 UTC
- Mean motion
- 2.2576835 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.7179013
- Inclination
- 28.6758°
- Ascending node
- 139.8006°
- Arg. of perigee
- 178.2047°
- Mean anomaly
- 187.6505°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 0
- B*
- 0.000099999
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: Direct-GEO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
2 catalogued: 1 payload, 1 rocket stage; 1 still in orbit
- Comstar 204 · NORAD 12309
Centaur AC-42 · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
Geostationary communications satellite built by Hughes Aircraft Company
Pad
Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
28th launch from Launch Complex 36A, 1st this year · 370th from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
71 launches from this pad · 1,131 from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
113 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did Comstar 1D launch?
Comstar 1D launched on February 21, 1981. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch Comstar 1D?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched Comstar 1D?
Atlas SLV-3D Centaur, flown by Convair. Atlas SLV-3D Centaur spec sheet
Where did Comstar 1D launch from?
Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA.
What orbit did Comstar 1D reach?
Comstar 204, one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 553 × 35,795 km orbit inclined 28.7°.
How many satellites did Comstar 1D launch?
1 payload from this launch is catalogued (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).