Lockheed MartinAtlas IIALaunch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
INMARSAT III F-3
Launched
December 18, 1996
Image: Department of Defense
Summary
INMARSAT III F-3 launched on a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIA from Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA on December 18, 1996. It was Lockheed Martin's 22nd launch, 6th this year and humanity's 4,115th orbital launch attempt. It was the 10th Atlas IIA flight and the 4th this year. The payload was bound for Geostationary Orbit (Direct-GEO). INMARSAT III F-3, one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 1,034 × 35,833 km orbit inclined 22.8°. 2 objects from this launch are catalogued, one of them a payload.
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Vehicle
- Atlas IIA · Lockheed Martin
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Communications · Geostationary Orbit (Direct-GEO)
- Milestone
- 10th Atlas IIA flight · 4th this yearLockheed Martin's 22nd launch6th this yearhumanity's 4,115th orbital launch attempt74th orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
INMARSAT III F-3 · NORAD 24674 · 1996-070 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 2 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- INMARSAT 3-F3
- Object ID
- 1996-070A
- Epoch
- 1996-12-18 06:25:51 UTC
- Mean motion
- 2.22231838 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.7014718
- Inclination
- 22.7764°
- Ascending node
- 285.0462°
- Arg. of perigee
- 180.9785°
- Mean anomaly
- 135.9181°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 0
- B*
- 0
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
- INMARSAT III F-3 · NORAD 24674
Centaur AC-129 · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
Launched in 1996-8, the Inmarsat-3s were built by Lockheed Martin Astro Space (now Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space) of the USA, responsible for the basic spacecraft, and the European Matra Marconi Space (now Astrium), which developed the communications payload.
Pad
Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
46th launch from Launch Complex 36A, 3rd this year · 523rd from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
71 launches from this pad · 1,131 from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
145 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did INMARSAT III F-3 launch?
INMARSAT III F-3 launched on December 18, 1996. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch INMARSAT III F-3?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched INMARSAT III F-3?
Atlas IIA, flown by Lockheed Martin. Atlas IIA spec sheet
Where did INMARSAT III F-3 launch from?
Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA.
What orbit did INMARSAT III F-3 reach?
INMARSAT III F-3, one of 2 catalogued objects, reached a 1,034 × 35,833 km orbit inclined 22.8°.
How many satellites did INMARSAT III F-3 launch?
1 payload from this launch is catalogued (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).