The QUASAR 5 satellite launched from what was then called the Air Force Western Test Range (AFWTR),[2] now SLC-4W at Vandenberg SFB, for a launch cost of $25.8 million.[3] The satellite was inserted into a highly elliptical 287 × 38,156 km orbit at an inclination of 63.3° (near-Molniya orbit). The apogee was set in the northern hemisphere.
The satellite was equipped with a Satellite Data System (SDS) payload developed by the US Air Force Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO) and acted as a communication relay for transmitting real-time data from US reconnaissance satellites such as KH-9 Hexagon.[4] It was also used for communications to US Air Force aircraft on polar routes. In 1984, the Permanent Representative of the US to the United Nations stated in a report that the spacecraft was engaged with "practical applications and uses of space technology such as weather or communications".[5]
Titan-3(34)B Agena-D rocket launching from Vandenberg AFB
B_Agena-D_(Jumpseat_6)_(USAF).jpg)
