An image of the LOFTI II satellite from the archives of the National Museum of the U.S. Navy
LOFTI 2B

LOFTI 2 ("LOw Frequency Trans Ionospheric Satellite", also styled LOFTI II) refers to a pair of United States Naval Research Laboratory satellites launched in 1962 and 1963 as a follow-on to the LOFTI-1 mission. The program's mission was to study how the ionosphere affected very low frequency transmissions. Both were 20-inch diameter aluminum spheres equipped with extendible antennas.[1]

LOFTI 2

LOFTI 2 was launched on 24 January 1962[2] as part of the Composite 1 mission alongside four other satellites.[3] The mission failed to reach orbit.[2][4]

LOFTI 2A

LOFTI 2A was launched on 15 June 1963 alongside five other satellites.[5] It was equipped with a ten-foot antenna which could be extended to 40 feet remotely. The orbital injection motor on the launch vehicle failed to fire, leaving all of the satellites in the wrong orbit.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Electro-Optical Systems (1966). Richter, Henry (ed.). Instruments and Spacecraft, October 1957-March 1965: Space Measurements Survey. Scientific and Technical Information Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. pp. 239–240, 430.
  2. 1 2 Krebs, Gunter. "LOFTI 1, 2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  3. ↑ "USN 711008: Lofti II Satellite". history.navy.mil. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  4. ↑ "Composite Launch Attempt Fails". Aviation Week and Space Technology. p. 29.
  5. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "LOFTI 2A". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  6. ↑ Brescia, R.; Ballou, D.; Zirm, R. Decay Prediction of 1963-21 Using U.S. Naval Space Surveillance System Observations (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 12 July 2022.

Further reading

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