United States Air ForceAtlas F MSDSpace Launch Complex 3W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Parcae 3A,B,C & MSD 3
Launched
March 3, 1980
Summary
Parcae 3A,B,C & MSD 3 launched on an United States Air Force Atlas F MSD from Space Launch Complex 3W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA on March 3, 1980. It was United States Air Force's 754th launch, 5th this year and humanity's 2,302nd orbital launch attempt. It was the 3rd Atlas F MSD flight and the 1st this year. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). The tracked orbit of OPS 7245, one of 10 catalogued objects, from March 14, 1980, was 1,059 × 1,176 km inclined 63.5°. 10 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
- 3rd Atlas F MSD flight · 1st this yearUnited States Air Force's 754th launch5th this yearhumanity's 2,302nd orbital launch attempt19th orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
OPS 7245 · NORAD 11720 · 1980-019 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 10 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- OPS 7245
- Object ID
- 1980-019A
- Epoch
- 1980-03-14 02:36:09 UTC
- Mean motion
- 13.39702415 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0077897
- Inclination
- 63.4845°
- Ascending node
- 355.8811°
- Arg. of perigee
- 156.7196°
- Mean anomaly
- 203.7387°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 143
- B*
- 0.000006125
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: LEO.
Catalogued objects
10 catalogued: 4 payloads, 6 components; 8 still in orbit
- OPS 7245 · NORAD 11720 · re-entered
- EP 1 · NORAD 11731 · in orbit
- EP 2 · NORAD 11732 · in orbit
- EP 3 · NORAD 11745 · re-entered April 2, 2021
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
57th launch from Space Launch Complex 3W, 1st this year · 478th from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
81 launches from this pad · 919 from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
249 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did Parcae 3A,B,C & MSD 3 launch?
Parcae 3A,B,C & MSD 3 launched on March 3, 1980. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch Parcae 3A,B,C & MSD 3?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched Parcae 3A,B,C & MSD 3?
Atlas F MSD, flown by United States Air Force. Atlas F MSD spec sheet
Where did Parcae 3A,B,C & MSD 3 launch from?
Space Launch Complex 3W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.
What orbit did Parcae 3A,B,C & MSD 3 reach?
The tracked orbit of OPS 7245, one of 10 catalogued objects, from March 14, 1980, was 1,059 × 1,176 km inclined 63.5°.
How many satellites did Parcae 3A,B,C & MSD 3 launch?
4 payloads from this launch are catalogued, 2 of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).