SURCAL explained

The Surveillance Calibration (or SURCAL) satellites were a series of radar calibration satellites for the Naval Space Surveillance radar system. They were launched in the 1960s.

Background

The SURCAL series of satellites were produced by the Naval Research Laboratory to act as test and calibration targets for the Naval Space Surveillance radar. The first SURCAL satellite was intended to remain attached to the launch vehicle[1] and was a 5.5 inch long, 5.5 inch diameter cylinder.[2] The other four SURCAL satellites were box-shaped with solar panels, a transponder, and antennas.[3] They transmitted a 216 MHz signal on command.[4]

Launches

SURCAL Satellites
NameCOSPAR[5] Launch dateRocket[6] Mass (kg)Re-entry [7]
SURCAL 1N/A24 January 1962Thor-Able-Star98.5 kg[8] Launch failure
SURCAL 21962 B Tau 413 December 1962Thor-Agena-D37 kg18 Jan 1966
SURCAL 31962-021F15 June 1963Thor-Agena-D[9] 3 kg[10] 5 Jul 1963
SURCAL 41965-016G9 March 1965Thor-Agena-D5 kg[11] 27 March 1981
SURCAL 51965-065K9 March 1965Thor-Able-StarIn orbit

Other vehicles

Astronautix includes passive satellites such as the SURCAL 150B and SURCAL 160 target objects as part of the SURCAL program.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Krebs . Gunter D. . Surcal 1 . Gunter's Space Page . 8 October 2021 . en . 1 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210501064309/https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/surcal-1.htm . live .
  2. Deac . Wilfred P . The Navy's Spy Missions in Space . U.S. Naval Institute . 1 April 2008 . 22 . 2 . 8 October 2021 . en . 21 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190421145952/https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2008/april/navys-spy-missions-space . live .
  3. McDowell . Jonathan . Naval Research Laboratory Satellites 1960-1989 . Journal of the British Interplanetary Society . 1997 . 50 . 427–432 . 8 October 2021 . 18 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210918214248/https://planet4589.org/jcm/pubs/space/papers/1997/nrl.pdf . live .
  4. NRL Satellites . Naval Research Reviews . August 1965 . cover. 18. 8. Olson . Richard D..
  5. Web site: Launch Log. McDowell. Jonathan. Jonathan's Space Report. 8 October 2021. 9 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210909084638/http://planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt. live.
  6. Web site: Wade . Mark . SURCAL . www.astronautix.com . 8 October 2021 . 5 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210905194232/http://www.astronautix.com/s/surcal.html . dead .
  7. Web site: Satellite Catalog. McDowell. Jonathan. Jonathan's Space Report. 8 October 2021. 9 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210909084638/http://planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt. live.
  8. Web site: NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . 8 October 2021 . 30 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210930140844/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=SURC1 . live .
  9. Web site: Krebs . Gunter D. . Surcal 2, 3, 4, 5 . Gunter's Space Page . 8 October 2021 . en . 8 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210808160419/https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/surcal-2.htm . live .
  10. Web site: NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . 2021-10-08 . 2021-10-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211008175505/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1963-021F . live .
  11. Web site: NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . 8 October 2021 . 8 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211008175515/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-016G . live .

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