TacSat-3 was the third in a series of U.S. military reconnaissance satellites. It was assembled in an Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate facility at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico Read more
The TacSat-3 satellite that was launched on the 19th May, 2009, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport is predicted to re-enter the Earths atmosphere on the 1st May, 2012 @ 00:46 GMT ± 48 hours.
ATK Announces TacSat-3 Satellite Has Exceeded Planned Mission Life, Reaching Two Year Anniversary On-Orbit
ATK joins the U.S. Air Force Space Command in observing the two year anniversary on-orbit for the Tactical Satellite-3 (TacSat-3). Originally designed for six months of operation with a one year goal, the spacecraft successfully transitioned from experimental to operational status last year, outliving its design life and surpassing original mission requirements. Read more
Tactical Satellite-3 will transition from an experimental demonstration to an operational asset when spacecraft control authority officially transfers June 12 from the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate here to Air Force Space Command at Peterson AFB, Colo. Launched in May 2009, the 880-pound satellite achieved many milestones such as proving the capability of transmitting processed data to a ground station within 10 minutes of call up. Read more
Orbital Sciences Corporation announced today that its Minotaur I rocket successfully launched the Tactical Satellite-3 (TacSat-3) for the U.S. Air Force. The mission originated earlier today from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) launch facility at NASAs Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, VA. At approximately 7:55 p.m. (Eastern), the rockets first stage ignited, beginning its flight into low-Earth orbit. Approximately 12 minutes later, the Minotaur I deployed the TacSat-3 spacecraft in its targeted orbit of approximately 460 kilometres above the Earths surface. Todays mission was the 16th mission for the Minotaur program since its inception in 2000, all of which have been fully successful. It was also the third Minotaur I launch from the MARS facility, following the TacSat-2 and NFIRE missions conducted from the Eastern Virginia launch site in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Including the TacSat-3 mission, which carried four other smaller payloads, Minotaur I rockets have put a total of 30 satellites into orbit.