| Mission type | Communications |
|---|---|
| Operator | Intelsat |
| COSPAR ID | 1970-003A |
| SATCAT no. | 04297 |
| Mission duration | 5 years (planned) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | TRW Inc. |
| Launch mass | 293 kilograms (646 lb) |
| BOL mass | 151 kilograms (333 lb) |
| Power | 183 W |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | January 15, 1970, 00:16:03 UTC [1] |
| Rocket | Delta M |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-17A |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric [2] |
| Regime | Geostationary [2] |
| Eccentricity | 0.00033 [2] |
| Perigee altitude | 35,773 kilometers (22,228 mi) [2] |
| Apogee altitude | 35,801 kilometers (22,246 mi) [2] |
| Inclination | 0.9° [2] |
| Period | 1,436.1 minutes [2] |
| Epoch | January 15, 1970 [2] |
Intelsat III | |
Intelsat III F-6 was a communications satellite owned by Intelsat. The satellite had an estimated useful life of 5 years.
The sixth of eight Intelsat III satellites to be launched, Intelsat III F-6 was built by TRW. It was a 293-kilogram (646 lb) spacecraft equipped with two transponders to be powered by body-mounted solar cells generating 183 watts of power. [3] It had a design life of five years and carried an SVM-2 apogee motor for propulsion. [4]
Intelsat III F-6 was launched on a Delta M rocket, flying from Launch Complex 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch took place on January 15, 1970, with the spacecraft bound for a geosynchronous transfer orbit. [1]