![]() Drawing of Biosatellite 2. | |
Mission type | Bioscience |
---|---|
Operator | NASA / ARC |
COSPAR ID | 1967-083B |
SATCAT no. | 9236[1] |
Mission duration | 2 days |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | General Electric |
Launch mass | 955 kilograms (2,105 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 7 September 1967, 22:04:26[2] | UTC
Rocket | Delta G 475/D51 |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-17B[3]rp |
End of mission | |
Landing date | 9 September 1967 |
Landing site | Hawaii, USA |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Eccentricity | 0.00202[4] |
Perigee altitude | 286 kilometres (178 mi)[4] |
Apogee altitude | 313 kilometres (194 mi)[4] |
Inclination | 33.5º[4] |
Period | 90.8 minutes[4] |
Epoch | 7 September 1967[4] |
Biosatellite 2, also known as abbreviated as Biosat 2 and as Biosatellite B, was a second artificial satellite unmanned U.S. belonging to Biosatellite program for biological research. It was released on September 7, 1967 by a rocket Delta G from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, USA.[5]
Biosatellite 2 carried 13 Biological experiments involving insects, frog eggs, plants and microorganisms. The capsule returned ahead of time because of the tropical storm threat in the recovery area and communication problems between the capsule and ground stations. The main objective of the mission was to determine if the level of radiation sensitivity of living organisms in space is greater, or less than on land, for which disposed of a radiation source in front of the capsule.