Orion 3 (satellite)
| Mission type | Communication |
|---|---|
| Operator | Loral |
| COSPAR ID | 1999-024A |
| Mission duration | 15 years (planned) Launch failure |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | HS-601HP |
| Manufacturer | Hughes |
| Launch mass | 4,300 kilograms (9,500 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 5 May 1999, 01:00:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Delta III 8930 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral SLC-17B |
| Contractor | Boeing |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime |
Geostationary (planned) Low Earth (achieved) |
| Longitude | 139° East (planned) |
| Perigee | 421 kilometres (262 mi) |
| Apogee | 1,317 kilometres (818 mi) |
| Inclination | 29.0 degrees |
| Period | 102.3 minutes |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 10 G/H band 33 J band |
Orion 3 was an American spacecraft which was intended for use by Orion Network Systems, as a geostationary communications satellite. It was to have been positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 139° East, from where it was to have provided communications services to Asia and Oceania. Due to a malfunction during launch, it was instead delivered to a useless low Earth orbit.
Orion 3 was constructed by Hughes Space and Communications, based on an HS-601HP satellite bus. It was equipped with 10 G/H band (IEEE C band) and 33 J band (IEEE Ku band) transponders, and at launch it had a mass of 4,300 kilograms (9,500 lb). The satellite was expected to remain operational for around fifteen years.Orion Network Systems merged with Loral Space & Communications in 1999 after the Orion 3 launch failure.
The Orion 3 satellite was launched on the second flight of the Delta III rocket, using the standard 8930 configuration. The launch occurred from Space Launch Complex 17B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, at 01:00:00 GMT on 5 May 1999. The first stage and solid rocket motors performed as expected, and the first burn of the second stage was conducted as planned, injecting the spacecraft into low Earth orbit. Following this, the rocket entered a coast phase, before the second stage restarted for what was planned to be a 162 second burn to insert Orion 3 into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Around 3.4 seconds after igniting, the RL-10-B-2 engine of the second stage cut off after a malfunction was detected, leaving the spacecraft in an orbit of around 160 by 1,284 kilometres (99 mi × 798 mi), with 29.5° inclination. It was the second failure of an RL-10 powered rocket in less than a week, after the Centaur upper stage of a Titan IV rocket failed during the launch of USA-143 on 30 April, although this incident was later attributed to a programming error.
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