Samos 2

Mission type	Reconnaissance
Operator	United States Air Force
Harvard designation	1961 Alpha 1
COSPAR ID	1961-001A
SATCAT no.	00070
Mission duration	1 month
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Samos-E1
Bus	Agena-A
Start of mission
Launch date	January 31, 1961, 20:31:19 (1961-01-31UTC20:31:19Z) UTC
Rocket	Atlas LV-3A Agena-A 70D
Launch site	Point Arguello LC-1-1
End of mission
Decay date	October 21, 1973
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Sun-synchronous Low Earth
Perigee altitude	474 kilometers (295 mi)
Apogee altitude	553 kilometers (344 mi)
Inclination	97.4 degrees
Period	94.9 minutes

Samos 2 was an American reconnaissance satellite launched in 1961 as part of the Samos program. It was an early electro-optical reconnaissance spacecraft, meaning that it transmitted images to receiving stations on Earth rather than returning them in a film capsule. Samos 2 was a Samos-E1 spacecraft, based on an Agena-A.^[1]

The launch of Samos 2 occurred at 20:31:19 UTC on January 31, 1961. An Atlas LV-3A Agena-A rocket was used, flying from Launch Complex 1-1 at the Point Arguello Naval Air Station.^[2] Ten minutes and fourteen seconds later, the Agena's engine cut off, having successfully achieved a low Earth orbit.^[3] It was assigned the Harvard designation 1961 Alpha 1.

Samos 2 operated in a Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit, with an apogee of 553 kilometres (344 mi), a perigee of 474 kilometres (295 mi), an inclination of 97.4 degrees, and a period of 94.9 minutes.^[4] The satellite had a mass of 1,915 kilograms (4,222 lb),^[3] and measured 6.86 metres (22.5 ft) in length, with a diameter of 1.52 metres (5 ft 0 in).^[5] It operated successfully, but the images returned were poor.^[6] Designed to operate for around ten days,^[1] it ceased operations around a month after launch,^[3] and decayed from orbit on October 21, 1973.^[4]

References