Intelsat II F-2, also known as Lani Bird, was a communications satellite operated by Intelsat. Launched in 1967, it was operated in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 174 degrees east until 1969.
The second of four Intelsat II satellites to be launched, Intelsat II F-2 was built by Hughes Aircraft around the HS-303A satellite bus. It carried two transponders, which were powered by body-mounted solar cells generating 85 watts of power.[3] The spacecraft had a mass of 162 kg at launch, decreasing to 86 kg by the beginning of its operational life.
Intelsat II F-2 was launched atop a Delta E1 rocket flying from Launch Complex 17B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch took place at 10:55:00 on January 11, 1967, with the spacecraft entering a geosynchronous transfer orbit. It fired an SVM-1 apogee motor to place itself into its operational geostationary orbit, arriving on-station at 174° East on February 4, 1967.[4] The satellite achieved around two years of operation at that slot before failing in 1969.[5]
As of February 4, 2014, Intelsat II F-2 was in an orbit with a perigee of 35748 km, an apogee of 35845 km, inclination of 6.80 degrees and an orbital period of 23.93 hours.[2]
References
- Jonathan McDowell. Launch Log Jonathan's Space Page, retrieved February 8, 2014^
- INTELSAT 2-F2 Satellite details 1967-001A NORAD 2639 N2YO, February 4, 2014, retrieved February 8, 2014^
- Gunter Krebs. Intelsat-2 Gunter's Space Page, retrieved February 8, 2014^
- INTELSAT 2 F-2 National Space Science Data Center, retrieved February 8, 2014^
- Mark Wade. Intelsat 2 Encyclopedia Astronautica, retrieved September 22, 2021^