United States Air ForceDelta II 7925-10Space Launch Complex 2W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Polar
Launched
February 24, 1996
Image: NASA
Summary
Polar launched on an United States Air Force Delta II 7925-10 from Space Launch Complex 2W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA on February 24, 1996. It was United States Air Force's 961st launch, 3rd this year and humanity's 4,055th orbital launch attempt. It was the 2nd Delta II 7925-10 flight and the 1st this year. The payload was bound for Elliptical Orbit (Elliptical). Polar, one of 3 catalogued objects, reached a 193 × 50,558 km orbit inclined 86.0°. 3 objects from this launch are catalogued, one of them a payload.
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Vehicle
- Delta II 7925-10 · United States Air Force
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Astrophysics · Elliptical Orbit (Elliptical)
- Milestone
- 2nd Delta II 7925-10 flight · 1st this yearUnited States Air Force's 961st launch3rd this yearhumanity's 4,055th orbital launch attempt14th orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Polar · NORAD 23802 · 1996-013 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 3 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- POLAR
- Object ID
- 1996-013A
- Epoch
- 1996-02-25 04:45:53 UTC
- Mean motion
- 1.53485944 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.7932495
- Inclination
- 85.9916°
- Ascending node
- 27.118°
- Arg. of perigee
- 292.2208°
- Mean anomaly
- 24.4239°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 1
- B*
- 0
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: Elliptical. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
3 catalogued: 1 payload, 2 rocket stages; 1 still in orbit
- Polar · NORAD 23802 · in orbit
Delta 233 · re-entered May 2, 1996
Delta 233 Stage 3 · re-entered December 2, 1996
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
Polar is one of four spacecraft in the Global Geospace Science (GGS) program. These are among the spacecraft (Wind, Geotail, SOHO, and Cluster) in the International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) program. POLAR measures solar wind entry, ionospheric output, and the depositions of energy into the neutral atmosphere at high latitudes.
Pad
Space Launch Complex 2W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
49th launch from Space Launch Complex 2W, 1st this year · 567th from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
99 launches from this pad · 919 from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
111 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did Polar launch?
Polar launched on February 24, 1996. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch Polar?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched Polar?
Delta II 7925-10, flown by United States Air Force. Delta II 7925-10 spec sheet
Where did Polar launch from?
Space Launch Complex 2W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.
What orbit did Polar reach?
Polar, one of 3 catalogued objects, reached a 193 × 50,558 km orbit inclined 86.0°.
How many satellites did Polar launch?
1 payload from this launch is catalogued, still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).