This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2010) |
Mission type | Launch vehicle development |
---|---|
Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | 1966-059A |
SATCAT no. | 2289 |
Mission duration | ~6 hours |
Distance travelled | 161,900 kilometers (87,400 nmi) |
Orbits completed | 4 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | None |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | July 5, 1966, 14:53:13 | UTC
Rocket | Saturn IB SA-203 |
Launch site | Cape Kennedy LC-37B |
End of mission | |
Destroyed | July 5, 1966 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Perigee altitude | 184 kilometers (99 nmi) |
Apogee altitude | 214 kilometers (116 nmi) |
Inclination | 31.9 degrees |
Period | 88.47 minutes |
Epoch | July 5, 1966[1] |
AS-203 (also known as SA-203) was an uncrewed flight of the Saturn IB rocket on July 5, 1966. It carried no command and service module, as its purpose was to verify the design of the S-IVB rocket stage restart capability that would later be used in the Apollo program to boost astronauts from Earth orbit to a trajectory towards the Moon. It achieved its objectives, but the stage was inadvertently destroyed after four orbits.
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search