United States Air ForceThor SLV-2 Agena BSpace Launch Complex 2E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Echo 2
Launched
January 25, 1964
Image: NASA
Summary
Echo 2 launched on an United States Air Force Thor SLV-2 Agena B from Space Launch Complex 2E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA on January 25, 1964. It was United States Air Force's 179th launch, 4th this year and humanity's 297th orbital launch attempt. It was the 1st Thor SLV-2 Agena B flight. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). Echo 2, one of 5 catalogued objects, reached a 1,038 × 1,323 km orbit inclined 81.5°. 5 objects from this launch are catalogued, one of them a payload.
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Vehicle
- Thor SLV-2 Agena B · United States Air Force
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Communications · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Milestone
- 1st Thor SLV-2 Agena B flightUnited States Air Force's 179th launch4th this yearhumanity's 297th orbital launch attempt4th orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Echo 2 · NORAD 740 · 1964-004 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 5 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- TBA - TO BE ASSIGNED
- Object ID
- 1964-004A
- Epoch
- 1964-01-27 01:35:35 UTC
- Mean motion
- 13.23029482 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0188784
- Inclination
- 81.5004°
- Ascending node
- 38.8047°
- Arg. of perigee
- 104.4457°
- Mean anomaly
- 257.6571°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 20
- B*
- 0
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: LEO.
Catalogued objects
5 catalogued: 1 payload, 1 rocket stage, 3 components; 3 still in orbit
- Echo 2 · NORAD 740 · re-entered June 7, 1969
Agena B 6301 · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
The Echo 2 spacecraft was a 41-m balloon of aluminum foil-mylar laminate. Echo 2 was designed as a rigidized passive communications spacecraft for testing propagation, tracking, and communication techniques.
Pad
Space Launch Complex 2E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
15th launch from Space Launch Complex 2E, 1st this year · 120th from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
47 launches from this pad · 919 from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
50 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did Echo 2 launch?
Echo 2 launched on January 25, 1964. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch Echo 2?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched Echo 2?
Thor SLV-2 Agena B, flown by United States Air Force. Thor SLV-2 Agena B spec sheet
Where did Echo 2 launch from?
Space Launch Complex 2E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.
What orbit did Echo 2 reach?
Echo 2, one of 5 catalogued objects, reached a 1,038 × 1,323 km orbit inclined 81.5°.
How many satellites did Echo 2 launch?
1 payload from this launch is catalogued, no longer in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).