USAF Titan IIIC TACSAT 1
Titan IIIC
Status
Success
Date
9 FEB 1969
21:09
Launch Provider
United States Air Force
Launch Pad
Space Launch Complex 41
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Mission Overview
TACSAT 1 (also TACOMSAT, Tactical Communications satellite) was the largest and most powerful communications satellite at the time when it was launched into synchronous orbit by a Titan-3C booster 9 February 1969, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The experimental tactical communications satellite was designed and built by Hughes Aircraft Company, under the direction of the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Organization, for the Department of Defense.
Rocket
Titan IIIC
Mission Type
Communications
Orbit
Geosynchronous Orbit
Stages
3
Livestream
Not availableRocket Details
The Titan IIIC was an expendable launch system used by the United States Air Force from 1965 until 1982. It was the first Titan booster to feature large solid rocket motors and was planned to be used as a launcher for the Dyna-Soar, though the spaceplane was cancelled before it could fly. The majority of the launcher's payloads were DoD satellites, for military communications and early warning, though one flight (ATS-6) was performed by NASA. The Titan IIIC was launched exclusively from Cape Canaveral while its sibling, the Titan IIID, was launched only from Vandenberg AFB.
Height
42 m
Diameter
3 m
Launch Mass
626 T
Thrust
10,586 kN