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Other Designations: Defense Support Program. Class: Early Warning. Nation: United States. Agency: USAF. Manufacturer: TRW. DSP is the 2nd generation DSP Ballistic Missile Early Warning Satellite. Spacecraft: Spacecraft spin slowly (6 rpm) about the nadir axis to permit scanning of the Earth by the detector system. Zero momentum stabilised using a reaction wheel to counter the spacecraft spin. Body mounted cells and deployable panels generate roughly 680 W. Payload: Payload includes 3.6 m Schmidt telescope with 2000 element IR sensor, nuclear detection sensors.
SpecificationDesign Life: 3 years (5 year goal). Total Length: 2.9 m. Maximum Diameter: 2.8 m. Total Mass: 1,670 kg.
DSP Chronology
26 June 1976
IMEWS 6 Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 3C. Mass: 1,670 kg. Perigee: 35,620 km. Apogee: 35,860 km. Inclination: 0.5 deg.
06 February 1977
IMEWS 7 Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 3C. Mass: 1,670 kg. Perigee: 35,620 km. Apogee: 35,860 km. Inclination: 0.5 deg.
10 June 1979
IMEWS 10 Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 3C. Mass: 1,670 kg. Perigee: 35,712 km. Apogee: 35,854 km. Inclination: 1.8 deg.
16 March 1981
IMEWS 11 Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 3C. Mass: 1,670 kg. Perigee: 35,463 km. Apogee: 35,527 km. Inclination: 2.0 deg.
06 March 1982
IMEWS 13 Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 3C. Mass: 1,670 kg. Perigee: 35,520 km. Apogee: 35,598 km. Inclination: 2.0 deg.
14 April 1984
DSP Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 34D. Mass: 1,670 kg. Perigee: 35,530 km. Apogee: 35,530 km. Inclination: 1.3 deg. DSP.
22 December 1984
USA 7 Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 34D. Mass: 1,670 kg. Perigee: 35,619 km. Apogee: 35,915 km. Inclination: 3.4 deg. Reserve DSP fitted with Block 14 sensors. Observed Scud launches during Gulf War.
29 November 1987
USA 28 Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 34D. Mass: 1,670 kg. Perigee: 35,514 km. Apogee: 35,558 km. Inclination: 2.9 deg. Reserve DSP fitted with Block 14 sensors. Observed Scud launches during Gulf War.
23 February 1997
DSP F18 Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 4B. Perigee: 35,780 km. Apogee: 35,790 km. Inclination: 0.0 deg.
Bibliography:- 4 - McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Report (Internet Newsletter), Harvard University, Weekly, 1989 to Present. HTML when accessed: ftp://sao-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/jcm/space/news
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Last update 12 March 2001.
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© Mark Wade, 2001 .