Spacecraft History
SNAP-10A was launched from Vandenberg AFB by an ATLAS Agena D rocket on April 3, 1965 into a polar low Earth orbit altitude of approx. 1,300 km. It is in a retrograde orbit. Its nuclear electrical source, made up of thermoelectric elements, was intended to produce over 500 watts of electrical power for one year. After 43 days, an onboard voltage regulator within the spacecraft—unrelated to the SNAP reactor itself—failed, causing the reactor core to be shut down, after reaching a maximum output of 590 watts. The reactor was left in a 700-nautical-mile (1,300 km) earth orbit for an expected duration of 4,000 years. An anomalous event in November 1979 caused the vehicle to begin shedding an eventual 50 pieces. A collision has not been ruled out and radioactive debris may have been released.
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