OV1-6S

Launch data: Designation  02527 / 66099C Launch date  03 Nov 1966 - 13:51 UT Launch site  CC, LC-40 Launch vehicle  Titan-3C (#3C-9) Mission  Radiation experiments Earth orbit on: Perigee / Apogee  290 x 295 km Inclination  32.84° Period   min

This diagram shows the arrangement of various experiments and piggyback satellites carried by the USAF OV4-3 MOL simulator with the Titan IIIC Transtage attached.

Description:

• Various experiments and piggyback satellites carried by the USAF OV4-3 MOL simulator with the Titan IIIC Transtage attached.
• In addition to these experiments, three OV-series satellites were carried in the boilerplate adapter section for deployment once orbit had been achieved. The OV (Orbital Vehicle) satellite series was a joint program of the Air Force Space Command (AFSC) and Office of Aerospace Research (OAR) to provide low cost satellites to support USAF space research. The heaviest of the piggyback satellites carried on this mission was OV1-6. Originally designed to be launched on surplus Atlas ICBMs, General Dynamics OV1 satellites were of a standardized design consisting of a cylinder with hemispherical caps having a total length of 1.39 meters and a diameter of 0.69 meters with a mass typically less than 100 kilograms. Since OV1-6 would be deployed directly into orbit, it did not require the 354-kilogram OV1-PM propulsion module and its X-258 solid rocket motor like OV1 payloads launched from a suborbital Atlas missile. The 25-day mission of OV1-6 was classified but it was longer and heavier than the standard OV1 satellite with a length of 1.72 meters and a mass of 202 kilograms. It was rumored that OV1-6 carried a set of inflatable decoys that were expected to appear like satellites to ground radar.