Optus B2

General

Designation	22278 / 92090A
Launch date	21 Dec 1992 at 11:20 UT
Country of origin	Australia
Mission	Telecommunications
Geostationary orbit	n/a
Launch vehicle	Long March 2E

The satellite was destroyed when the fairing area of the launch vehicle was destroyed some 47 seconds after liftoff. The cause of the failure is still subject to some speculation and disagreement but was almost certainly due to wind shear effects encountered just after liftoff.

The Optus B series of satellites have a liquid propulsion apogee engine (not solid propelled motor). They do, however, have a solid perigee stage when launched on Long March 2E. It is almost certain that this solid motor (plus a few remnants of the satellite itself) is all that was delivered into orbit.

Optus B2

General

End of life

External resources

Technical data

EIRP coverage (dBW)