Intelsat II F-3

Intelsat II F-3, also known as Canary Bird was a communications satellite operated by Intelsat. Launched in 1967 it was operated in geostationary orbit, spending most of its operational life at a longitude of 15 degrees west.

The third of four Intelsat II satellites to be launched, Intelsat II F-3 was built by Hughes Aircraft around the HS-303A satellite bus. It carried two transponders, which were powered by body-mounted solar cells generating 85 watts of power.^[4] The spacecraft had a mass of 162 kilograms (357 lb) at launch, decreasing through expenditure of propellant to 86 kilograms (190 lb) by the beginning of its operational life.

Intelsat II F-3 was launched atop a Delta E1 rocket flying from Launch Complex 17B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch took place at 01:30:12 on March 23, 1967, with the spacecraft entering a geosynchronous transfer orbit. It fired an SVM-1 apogee motor to place itself into its operational geostationary orbit. The spacecraft was operated at a longitude of 15° west, over the Atlantic Ocean. It was briefly relocated to 35° west in 1972, but had returned to 15° west by the following year.^[5]

It acquired the unofficial nickname Canary Bird because of the association of the mission with Maspalomas Station, the ground station which is located in the Canary Islands.^[6]

As of February 7, 2014 the derelict Intelsat II F-3 was in an orbit with a perigee of 35,716 kilometers (22,193 mi), an apogee of 35,892 kilometers (22,302 mi), inclination of 5.81 degrees and an orbital period of 23.94 hours.^[3]

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