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Atlas IIA
Launched 1996-12-18 01:57:01 UTCLaunch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Success
Reached Geostationary Orbit
Worldwide
74th
orbital launch attempt in 1996
Lockheed Martin
6th
launch this year
Launch Complex 36A
3rd
launch from this pad this year
Pad turnaround
145 d 13 h
since the pad's previous launch
Launched in 1996-8, the Inmarsat-3s were built by Lockheed Martin Astro Space (now Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space) of the USA, responsible for the basic spacecraft, and the European Matra Marconi Space (now Astrium), which developed the communications payload.
Lockheed Martin's Space Division started in the production of missiles and later ICBM's in the 1950s. Their TITAN missile system was used for 12 Gemini spacecraft and the Voyager probes. They have worked largely in collaboration with NASA on many of their probes, landers, and spacecraft, and hope to play a key role in NASA's return to the moon in 2024.
Launches
80
Successful
77
96%
Upcoming
0
scheduled
Height
47.5m
Diameter
3m
To low Earth orbit
6,580kg
Liftoff thrust
2,479kN
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