Previous Spaceflight Launches
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Ariane 44L | Arabsat IIA & Türksat 1C
Aérospatiale | FranceGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
July 9, 1996, 10:24 p.m.
Long March 3 | Apstar 1A
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation | ChinaXichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
July 3, 1996, 10:47 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
The APSTAR 1 spacecraft carries such general communications traffic as voice, fax, data, and television signals across China and Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and Vietnam. APSTAR 1A has expanded coverage to India and Pakistan. Hughes Space and Communications International, Inc., signed a contract in May 1992 with APT Satellite Company, Ltd., of Hong Kong for the first satellite. APT ordered APSTAR IA in March 1995. The spacecraft were built at the Hughes Space and Communications Company facilities in El Segundo, Calif.
Geostationary OrbitTitan 405A | Quasar 11
Lockheed Martin | United States of AmericaCape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
July 3, 1996, 12:30 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
Satellite Data System (SDS) spacecraft are communication relay satellites for transmiting real-time data from US reconnaissance satellites (e.g. KH-11) in polar areas. They are also used for communications to USAF air craft on polar routes and connect the various ground stations of the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN). The spacecraft relay the downlinked KH-11 data to a ground station at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Elliptical Orbit
Pegasus XL | Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS)
Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of AmericaAir launch to orbit
July 2, 1996, 7:48 a.m.
Soyuz-U-PVB | Yantar-4K2 76
Progress Rocket Space Center | RussiaPlesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
June 20, 1996, 6:44 p.m.
Space Shuttle Columbia / OV-102 | STS-78
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
June 20, 1996, 2:49 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
STS-78 was the fifth dedicated Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission for the Space Shuttle program, flown partly in preparation for the International Space Station project. The mission used the Space Shuttle Columbia, which lifted off successfully from Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39-B on 20 June 1996.
Low Earth Orbit
Ariane 44P | INTELSAT 709
Aérospatiale | FranceGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
June 15, 1996, 6:55 a.m.
Ariane 5 G | Cluster
ArianeGroup | FranceGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
June 4, 1996, 12:34 p.m.
Proton | Gorizont 32
Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center | RussiaBaikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
May 25, 1996, 2:05 a.m.
Delta II | Galaxy 9
United Launch Alliance | United States of AmericaCape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
May 24, 1996, 1:10 a.m.
