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Delta 7426-9.5 | Stardust

McDonnell Douglas | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Feb. 7, 1999, 9:04 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Stardust is the first U.S. space mission dedicated solely to the exploration of a comet, and the first robotic mission designed to return extraterrestrial material from outside the orbit of the Moon.

Heliocentric N/A
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Athena I | Formosat-1

Lockheed Martin | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Jan. 27, 1999, 12:34 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

The mission objective of ROCSAT-1 (Republic of China Satellite 1) is to develop, launch, and operate a low earth orbit satellite, and to conduct three scientific and technology experiments in the areas of ocean color imaging, space telecommunication, and solar-terrestrial physics.

Low Earth Orbit
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Delta 7425-9.5 | Mars Polar Lander

McDonnell Douglas | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Jan. 3, 1999, 8:21 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

The Mars Polar Lander, also known as the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander, was a 290-kilogram robotic spacecraft lander launched by NASA on January 3, 1999 to study the soil and climate of Planum Australe, a region near the south pole on Mars. It formed part of the Mars Surveyor '98 mission. On December 3, 1999, however, after the descent phase was expected to be complete, the lander failed to reestablish communication with Earth. A post-mortem analysis determined the most likely cause of the mishap was premature termination of the engine firing prior to the lander touching the surface, causing it to strike the planet at a high velocity.

Heliocentric N/A
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Proton | Uragan 72 to 74

Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center | Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Dec. 30, 1998, 6:35 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

GLONASS navigation satellites

Medium Earth Orbit
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Kosmos-3M | Parus 90

Russian Space Forces | Russia
Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
Dec. 24, 1998, 8:02 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Navigation satellite providing location information for the Tsiklon-B navigation system

Low Earth Orbit
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Ariane 42L | PAS 6B

Aérospatiale | France
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Dec. 22, 1998, 1:08 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

In March 1998, Hughes Space and Communications Company of El Segundo, Calif., was selected by PanAmSat Corporation of Greenwich, Conn., to build PAS-6B, a Hughes HS-601HP spacecraft model to provide direct-to-home television transmissions in South America. The satellite was launched Dec. 21, 1998.

Geostationary Orbit
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Long March 2C/SD | Iridium 88 & 89

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation | China
Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
Dec. 19, 1998, 11:39 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Iridium provides global mobile telecommunications services using a constellation of 66 low earth orbit satellites in a 86.4° inclined orbit. Although 77 satellites were originally envisioned for the system and spawned the name based on the 77th element in the periodic table, the system has been scaled back. Motorola's Satellite Communications Group designed and manufactured the Iridium satellites with Lockheed Martin providing the LM-700A spacecraft buses.

Low Earth Orbit
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Delta 7425-9.5 | Mars Climate Orbiter

McDonnell Douglas | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Dec. 11, 1998, 6:45 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

The Mars Surveyor '98 program is comprised of two spacecraft launched separately, the MCO (Mars Climate Orbiter, formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter) and the MPL (Mars Polar Lander, formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander). The two missions were to study the Martian weather, climate, and water and carbon dioxide budget, in order to understand the reservoirs, behavior, and atmospheric role of volatiles and to search for evidence of long-term and episodic climate changes. The Mars Climate Orbiter was destroyed when a navigation error caused it to miss its target altitude at Mars by 80 to 90 km, instead entering the Martian atmosphere at an altitude of 57 km during the orbit insertion maneuver.

Heliocentric N/A
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Kosmos-3M | Nadezhda 8

Russian Space Forces | Russia
Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation
Dec. 10, 1998, 11:57 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Civilian navigation satellite equivalent to the purely military Parus

Low Earth Orbit
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Pegasus XL | Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
Dec. 6, 1998, 12:57 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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