Nimbus B

Nimbus B
Mission type Weather satellite
Operator NASA
COSPAR ID NIMBS-B
Mission duration Launch failure
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer RCA Astrospace
Launch mass 571.5 kilograms (1,260 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date May 18, 1968, 00:00 (1968-05-18Z) UTC
Rocket Thorad-SLV2G Agena-D
Launch site Vandenberg SLC-2E
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Epoch Planned[1]

Nimbus B was an meteorological satellite launched as part of the Nimbus program. It was released on May 18, 1968 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California, by means of a Thor-Agena launch vehicle, together with the SECOR 10 satellite. Nimbus B never achieved orbit because of a malfunction in the booster guidance system forced the destruction of the spacecraft and its payload during launch.

The Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator SNAP-19 RTG was salvaged from the water, refurbished and later flown on Nimbus 3.[2]

Intact SNAP-19 fuel capsule is shown among debris on Pacific Ocean floor resulting from aborted launch of a Nimbus B.

Instruments

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Nimbus B". National Space Science Data Center Master Catalog. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Retrieved 5 June 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. "Nimbus B". NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.