OV1-86

Orbiting Vehicle 1-86 (also known as OV1-86 ) was a satellite launched 27 July 1967 to measure the temperature radiation properties of different types of terrain. Part of the OV1 series of USAF satellites, using standardized designs and sent to orbit on decommissioned Atlas ICBMs to reduce development and launching costs, OV1-86 was launched with two other satellites in the series, OV1-11 and OV1-12, in the first triple launch of the program. It was the only OV1 satellite to be cobbled together from two of its sister satellites, utilizing the unused body on OV1-8 and the unused propulsion module on OV1-6. OV1-86's was only partially successful due to the failure of its Vertistat gravity-gradient stabilization system. The satellite reentered the Earth's atmosphere on 22 February 1972.

History

The Orbiting Vehicle satellite program arose from a US Air Force initiative, begun in the early 1960s, to reduce the expense of space research. Through this initiative, satellites would be standardized to improve reliability and cost-efficiency, and where possible, they would fly on test vehicles or be piggybacked with other satellites. In 1961, the Air Force Office of Aerospace Research (OAR) created the Aerospace Research Support Program (ARSP) to request satellite research proposals and choose mission experiments. The USAF Space and Missiles Organization created their own analog of the ARSP called the Space Experiments Support Program (SESP), which sponsored a greater proportion of technological experiments than the ARSP. Five distinct OV series of standardized satellites were developed under the auspices of these agencies.

The OV1 program, managed by Lt.