United States Air ForceAtlas F MSDSpace Launch Complex 3W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Parcae 2A,B,C & MSD 2
Launched
December 8, 1977
Summary
Parcae 2A,B,C & MSD 2 launched on an United States Air Force Atlas F MSD from Space Launch Complex 3W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA on December 8, 1977. It was United States Air Force's 702nd launch, 22nd this year and humanity's 2,033rd orbital launch attempt. It was the 2nd Atlas F MSD flight and the 1st this year. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). OPS 8781, one of 8 catalogued objects, reached a 1,109 × 1,127 km orbit inclined 63.4°. 8 objects from this launch are catalogued, 4 of them payloads.
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Vehicle
- Atlas F MSD · United States Air Force
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Government/Top Secret · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Milestone
- 2nd Atlas F MSD flight · 1st this yearUnited States Air Force's 702nd launch22nd this yearhumanity's 2,033rd orbital launch attempt118th orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
OPS 8781 · NORAD 10502 · 1977-112 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 8 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- OPS 8781
- Object ID
- 1977-112A
- Epoch
- 1977-12-08 20:43:10 UTC
- Mean motion
- 13.39573525 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0011421
- Inclination
- 63.3836°
- Ascending node
- 63.5364°
- Arg. of perigee
- 165.5611°
- Mean anomaly
- 194.6186°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 2
- B*
- 0.000099999
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: LEO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
8 catalogued: 4 payloads, 4 components; 8 still in orbit
- OPS 8781 · NORAD 10502 · in orbit
- SS 1 · NORAD 10529 · in orbit
- SS 2 · NORAD 10544 · in orbit
- SS 3 · NORAD 10594 · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
The Parcae satellites were passive ELINT satellites. MSD satellites were dispensers of triplets of ocean surveillance satellites.
Pad
Space Launch Complex 3W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
52nd launch from Space Launch Complex 3W, 2nd this year · 455th from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
81 launches from this pad · 919 from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
168 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did Parcae 2A,B,C & MSD 2 launch?
Parcae 2A,B,C & MSD 2 launched on December 8, 1977. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch Parcae 2A,B,C & MSD 2?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched Parcae 2A,B,C & MSD 2?
Atlas F MSD, flown by United States Air Force. Atlas F MSD spec sheet
Where did Parcae 2A,B,C & MSD 2 launch from?
Space Launch Complex 3W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.
What orbit did Parcae 2A,B,C & MSD 2 reach?
OPS 8781, one of 8 catalogued objects, reached a 1,109 × 1,127 km orbit inclined 63.4°.
How many satellites did Parcae 2A,B,C & MSD 2 launch?
4 payloads from this launch are catalogued, 4 of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).