IMEWS

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IMEWS

Other Designations: Integrated Missile Early Warning Satellites. Class: Early Warning. Nation: United States. Agency: USAF. Manufacturer: TRW.

IMEWS was the first generation DSP satellite. Spacecraft: Spacecraft spin slowly (6 rpm) about the nadir axis to permit scanning of the Earth by the detector system. Body mounted and deployable panels provide 400W. Payload: Payload information is not available.

Specification

Design Life: 3 years . Total Mass: 820 kg.

IMEWS Chronology

06 November 1970 IMEWS 1 Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 3C. FAILURE: Partial Failure. Mass: 820 kg. Perigee: 25,840 km. Apogee: 36,128 km. Inclination: 16.4 deg.

First generation DSP; incorrect orbit. Exhausted fuel before could be put into operation.

05 May 1971 IMEWS 2 Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 3C. Mass: 820 kg. Perigee: 36,156 km. Apogee: 36,527 km. Inclination: 10.5 deg.

First generation DSP. First operational satellite.

01 March 1972 IMEWS 3 Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 3C. Mass: 820 kg. Perigee: 35,416 km. Apogee: 35,962 km. Inclination: 0.2 deg.

First generation DSP.

12 June 1973 IMEWS 4 Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 3C. Mass: 820 kg. Perigee: 35,777 km. Apogee: 35,786 km. Inclination: 0.3 deg.

14 December 1975 IMEWS 5 Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 3C. Mass: 820 kg. Perigee: 35,671 km. Apogee: 35,785 km. Inclination: 3.0 deg.

Bibliography:

2 - McDowell, Jonathan, The United Nations Registry of Space Objects, Harvard University, 1997. HTML when accessed: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/un/un.html
6 - JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. HTML when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html
127 - Vis, Bert, Spaceflight, "Shuttle Weather Watch", 1996, Volume 38, page 170.

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Last update 12 March 2001.
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© Mark Wade, 2001 .