Previous Spaceflight Launches
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Atlas IIA | GE 1
Lockheed Martin | United States of AmericaCape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Sept. 8, 1996, 9:49 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
GE-1 is owned by GE Americom and is a continuation of the old RCA/GE Satcom series. GE-1 has 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders, and replaced Satcom K1. GE-1 was placed in a supersynchronous transfer orbit of 191 × 56495 km × 25.0 deg.
Geostationary Orbit
Proton | INMARSAT III F-2
Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center | RussiaBaikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Sept. 6, 1996, 5:37 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
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.
Geostationary OrbitKosmos-3M | Parus 86
Russian Space Forces | RussiaPlesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
Sept. 5, 1996, 12:47 p.m.
Zenit-2 | Tselina-2 18
Yuzhnoye Design Bureau | UkraineBaikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Sept. 4, 1996, 9:01 a.m.
Molniya-M | Interbol 2, Magin 5 & MuSat 1
Russian Space Forces | RussiaPlesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
Aug. 29, 1996, 5:22 a.m.
Pegasus XL | Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer (FAST)
Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of AmericaAir launch to orbit
Aug. 21, 1996, 9:47 a.m.
Long March 3 | Zhongxing 7
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation | ChinaXichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
Aug. 18, 1996, 10:27 a.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:
ChinaSat 7 or ZX 7 (Zhongxing 7) is a Hughes HS-376 model geostationary telecommunications satellite built for the China Telecommunications Broadcast Satellite Corporation (ChinaSat). It was the first satellite ChinaSat had ordered from a western spacecraft contractor, Hughes Space and Communications International, Inc., known today as Boeing Satellite Systems International, Inc.
Geostationary Orbit
Soyuz-U | Soyuz TM-24
Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) | RussiaBaikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Aug. 17, 1996, 1:18 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
Soyuz TM-24 was the 27th mission and the 22nd long-duration expedition to Mir space station. It was also a part of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program. The mission began on 17 August 1996, 13:18:03 UTC, launching Commander Valery Korzun, Flight Engineer Aleksandr Kaleri and Research Cosmonaut Claudie André-Deshays into orbit. They docked with Mir two days later. During their stay there, cosmonauts performed several EVAs and various scientific experiments. Station crew was visited by several Progress resupply spacecrafts, STS-79 and STS-81, and welcomed aboard Soyuz TM-25 with the next expedition crew. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on March 2, 1997, 06:44:16 UTC.
Low Earth OrbitH-II | Midori
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | JapanTanegashima Space Center, Japan
Aug. 17, 1996, 1:53 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
Primary applications of ADEOS (Advanced Earth Observation Satellite), which has been renamed Midori after reaching orbit, include monitoring global environmental changes such as maritime meteorological conditions, atmospheric ozone, and gases that promote global warming. ADEOS was also expected to play a vital role in developing more sophisticated inter-orbit communications and platform technology for the satellite of tomorrow. ADEOS was launched by H-2 Launch Vehicle No.4 on August 1996 and provided a large volume of data containing valuable information about our environment atmosphere, ocean and land for about 10 months until it suddenly got out of control on 30 June 1997 because of the structural damage in its solar array paddle.
Low Earth OrbitMolniya-M | Molniya-1T 89
Russian Space Forces | RussiaPlesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
Aug. 14, 1996, 10:20 p.m.
