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SECOR
SECOR -

Credit: NASA. 21,732 bytes. 323 x 309 pixels.



Class: Earth. Type: Geodetic. Nation: USA. Agency: U.S. Army, U.S. Navy. Manufacturer: Cubic.

Small geodetic spacecraft used to precisely determine points on the earth (notably islands in the Pacific). Geodetic SECOR (Sequential Collation of Range) was an all-weather geodetic survey system which was in operational use for over 3 years, establishing a global survey network. It used the successive positions of artificial satellites in space to determine locations on the earth's surface with exactness over long distances. The system consisted of a satellite and 4 ground stations. 3 at geographical points where the co-ordinates had been surveyed accurately and the fourth at an unknown location. Radio waves were flashed from the ground stations to the satellite and returned. The position of the satellite at any time was fixed by the measured ranges from the 3 known stations. Using these precisely established satellite positions as a base, ranges from the satellite to the unknown station were used to compute the position of the unknown station. Geodetic SECOR allows continents and islands to be brought within the same geodetic global grid. Each ground station was entirely portable and contained 3 units: a radio frequency shelter, a data handling shelter and a storage shelter. Lighter weight, solid-state equipment was developed to replace the initial units. The satellite had a mass of 18 kg and contained a transponder, a telemetry system to monitor temperature and operating voltages, and a power unit comprised of solar panels and batteries. Prime Contractor was Cubic Corporation. Experiments with SECOR led to Timation, and finally the GPS Navstar system. 18



Specification


SECOR Chronology


24 January 1962 Secor Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Thor Able-Star. FAILURE: Failure.
11 January 1964 SECOR 1 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor Agena D. Mass: 18 kg. Perigee: 902 km. Apogee: 922 km. Inclination: 69.9 deg.

Located Pacific islands. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A).


09 March 1965 SECOR 3 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor Agena D. Mass: 18 kg. Perigee: 896 km. Apogee: 927 km. Inclination: 70.1 deg.

Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A).


11 March 1965 SECOR 2 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor Able-Star. Mass: 18 kg. Perigee: 296 km. Apogee: 1,014 km. Inclination: 90.0 deg.

Failed. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A).


03 April 1965 SECOR 4 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: SLV-3 Atlas / Agena D. Mass: 40 kg. Perigee: 1,265 km. Apogee: 1,312 km. Inclination: 90.3 deg.

Failed. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A).


10 August 1965 SECOR 5 (EGRS 5) Launch Site: Wallops Island . Launch Vehicle: Scout B. Mass: 24 kg. Perigee: 1,134 km. Apogee: 2,419 km. Inclination: 69.2 deg.

Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B).


09 June 1966 SECOR 6 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: SLV-3 Atlas / Agena D. Mass: 17 kg. Perigee: 168 km. Apogee: 3,646 km. Inclination: 90.0 deg.

Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A).


19 August 1966 SECOR 7 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: SLV-3 Atlas / Agena D. Mass: 17 kg. Perigee: 3,671 km. Apogee: 3,700 km. Inclination: 89.7 deg.

Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A).


05 October 1966 SECOR 8 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: SLV-3 Atlas / Agena D. Mass: 17 kg. Perigee: 3,674 km. Apogee: 3,707 km. Inclination: 90.0 deg.

Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A).


29 June 1967 SECOR 9 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: Thor Burner. Mass: 20 kg. Perigee: 3,792 km. Apogee: 3,946 km. Inclination: 90.1 deg.

Location survey. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A).


18 May 1968 EGRS 10 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. FAILURE: Failure.
14 April 1969 SECOR 13 Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Vehicle: LT Thor Agena D. Mass: 20 kg. Perigee: 1,067 km. Apogee: 1,126 km. Inclination: 100.0 deg.

Spacecraft engaged in practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communication (US Cat C).



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Last update 12 March 2001.
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