The FR-1 (France 1) satellite was launched in Dec 1965 by a Scout from Vandenberg. FR-1, a purely civilian scientific satellite developed by CNES, lost the race to orbit with the military DMA's A-1 satellite by less than two weeks. FR-1's mission was to study propagation of VLF radio waves in the ionosphere. The 62 kg satellite was built by Nord Aviation in conjunction with CNET, the communications research agency.
| FR-1 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 Dec 6 | 2106 | Launch by Scout X-4 | V SLC5 |
| 99.9 746 x 762 x 75.9 | |||
| 1966 Dec 31? | End of transmissions? | ||