Intelsat II F-2, also known as Lani Bird, was a

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. C ...

operated by

Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as In ...

. Launched in 1967, it was operated in

geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitud ...

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 HS3 or HS-3 may refer to: Transport * Curtiss HS-3, a patrol flying boat built for the United States Navy during World War I * Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 3, a United States Navy unit renamed to HSC-9 in 2009 (Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron ...

satellite bus A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held. Bus-derived satellites are opposed to specially produced satellites. Bus-d ...

. It carried two transponders, which were powered by body-mounted solar cells generating 85 watts of power. The spacecraft had a mass of at launch, decreasing to 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 An apogee kick motor (AKM) is a rocket motor that is regularly employed on artificial satellites to provide the final impulse to change the trajectory from the transfer orbit into its final (most commonly circular) orbit. For a satellite laun ...

to place itself into its operational

, arriving on-station at 174° East on February 4, 1967. The satellite achieved around two years of operation at that slot before failing in 1969. As of February 4, 2014, Intelsat II F-2 was in an orbit with a

perigee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

of , an

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

of ,

inclination Orbital inclination measures the tilt of an object's orbit around a celestial body. It is expressed as the angle between a Plane of reference, reference plane and the orbital plane or Axis of rotation, axis of direction of the orbiting object ...

of 6.80 degrees and an

orbital period The orbital period (also revolution period) is the amount of time a given astronomical object takes to complete one orbit around another object. In astronomy, it usually applies to planets or asteroids orbiting the Sun, moons orbiting planets ...

of 23.93 hours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Intelsat 202 Intelsat satellites Hughes aircraft Spacecraft launched in 1967