SURCAL

The Surveillance Calibration (or SURCAL) satellites were a series of radar calibration satellites for the Naval Space Surveillance radar system. They were launched in the 1960s.

Background

SURCAL 5

The SURCAL series of satellites were produced by the Naval Research Laboratory to act as test and calibration targets for the Naval Space Surveillance radar. The first SURCAL satellite was intended to remain attached to the launch vehicle^[1] and was a 5.5 inch long, 5.5 inch diameter cylinder.^[2] The other four SURCAL satellites were box-shaped with solar panels, a transponder, and antennas.^[3] They transmitted a 216 MHz signal on command.^[4]

Launches

SURCAL 1

SURCAL Satellites

Name	COSPAR[5]	Launch date[5]	Rocket[6]	Mass (kg)	Re-entry [7]
SURCAL 1	N/A	24 January 1962	Thor-Able-Star[1]	98.5 kg[8]	Launch failure
SURCAL 2[a]	1962 B Tau 4	13 December 1962	Thor-Agena-D[10]	37 kg[9]	18 Jan 1966
SURCAL 3[b]	1962-021F	15 June 1963	Thor-Agena-D[10]	3 kg[11]	5 Jul 1963
SURCAL 4[c]	1965-016G	9 March 1965	Thor-Agena-D[10]	5 kg[12]	27 March 1981
SURCAL 5	1965-065K	9 March 1965	Thor-Able-Star[10]		In orbit

1. Also listed as SURCAL 1A^[9]
2. Also listed as SURCAL 1B^[6]
3. Also listed as SURCAL 2B^[6]

Other vehicles

Astronautix includes passive satellites such as the SURCAL 150B and SURCAL 160 target objects as part of the SURCAL program.^[6]