FTV 2403 (Program 698BJ Vehicle 3, with payload PVP 853) was launched on 1962 Jul 18 by Atlas Agena B from Point Arguello. The Agena secondary propulsion system (SPS) failed to operate due to an electrical short. The planned orbit was 213 x 256 km, and FTV 2403 achieved 217 x 227 km. The satellite operated for at least 18 orbits.
The retrofire appears to have failed, but the SRV separated anyway and was left in a similar 184 x 234 km orbit; it is cataloged as 1962 AlphaZeta 2 and the Agena is 1962 AlphaZeta 1 The Agena reentered after 7 days, on Jul 25, and the SRV reentered on Jul 27, although the elements on Jul 23 suggest reentry was imminent then. (The RAE swaps the designations, with the object reentering on Jul 27 getting the designation AlphaZeta 1. I stick with the NORAD assignments here.) The spacecraft carried a neutron albedo experiment in addition to the USAF intelligence payload.
| FTV 2403 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 Jul 18 | 2051:20 | Launch by Atlas Agena B | NMFPA |
| 2053:36 | BECO (T+2:16) | ||
| 2055:41 | SECO (T+4:21) | ||
| 2055:57 | VECO (T+4:37) | ||
| 2056:03 | Atlas sep (T+4:43) | <0 x 214 x 94.37 (VCR) | |
| 2056:50 | SPS failed to ignite (T+5:30) | ||
| 2056:54 | Agena burn (T+5:34) | ||
| 2100:36 | Agena MECO (T+9:16) | 217 x 227 x ? (VCR) | |
| 1962 Jul 19 | 0046 | 88.81 187 x 244 x 96.1 | |
| 1109 | 88.89 189 x 250 x 96.2 | ||
| 1962 Jul 19 | 2040? | Agena B retrofire failed? | |
| SRV separated | |||
| SRV orbit (1962 AlphaZeta2) | 88.6 184 x 234 x 96.0 (SATCAT) | ||
| Agena orbit (1962 AlphaZeta1) | 88.8 187 x 243 x 96.0 (SATCAT) | ||
| 1962 Jul 20 | 2243 | Agena orbit | 88.72 180 x 241 x 96.1 |
| 1962 Jul 20 | 2243 | SRV orbit | 88.69 184 x 234 x 96.1 |
| 1962 Jul 21 | 0904 | SRV orbit | 88.62 180 x 232 x 96.1 |
| 1962 Jul 22 | 0500 | SRV orbit | 88.8 184 x 236 x 96.1 (RAE) |
| 1962 Jul 22 | 0547 | Agena orbit | 88.60 180 x 230 x 96.1 |
| 1962 Jul 23 | 1709 | SRV orbit | 88.28 163 x 215 x 96.1 |
| 1962 Jul 24 | 1300 | SRV orbit | 88.50 179 x 218 x 96.12 (RAE) |
| 1962 Jul 25 | 0733 | Agena orbit | 88.22 174 x 198 x 96.1 |
| 1962 Jul 25 | Agena B 2403 reentered | ||
| 1962 Jul 27 | FTV 2403 SRV reentered | ||