Feb. 11, 1965 - A Titan-3A rocket was put into three different orbits at Cape Kennedy today in a test of maneuverability needed for possible use on trips to space stations.
After executing a 4½-hour series of space acrobatics, the Titan’s third stage swung out into space to launch a 69-pound experimental communications satellite.
The satellite apparently separated from the third stage as planned but failed to shoot itself into the 11,500-mile orbit expected. Even so, a spokesman reported today that the satellite was working well.
The primary goal of the mission, however, was the versatile third stage’s three starts and stops. Its first firing sent the 7,000-pound rocket-payload assembly into a low earth orbit; its second switched it into an egg-shaped orbit, and the third firing put the vehicle into a near circular path ranging from 1,727 to 1,732 miles high.
It was the first time a U.S. rocket has been stopped and started three times in space.
The test of the 124-foot Titan-3A was a big step in an Air Force effort to perfect it and a more powerful Titan-3C for use as a multipurpose workhorse to meet future military needs in space.
One important payload already tentatively assigned the Titan-3C is the Air Force’s proposed manned orbiting laboratory. The first of the two-man space stations is scheduled to be lofted in 1968.
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