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US-AO 4
Launch SuccessfulLaunch Details
Date: 22 Mar 1968, 09:30 am UTC
Rocket: Tsiklon-2A (Tsiklon)
Provider: Soviet Space Program
Mission
Type: Government/Top Secret
Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
Pad: 90/19, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Mission Description
US-A (Upravlenniye Sputnik Aktivny) were active radar satellites for ocean surveillance. The high power consumtion of the active radar required a nuclear reactor as power source. The satellites were known as RORSAT in the west. The US-AO series consisted of satellites, which tested all the system components but the nuclear reactor. They were battery powered.