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| A "SpaceCraft" illustrated cachet cover postmarked Cape Canaveral, February 16, 1965, the launch day of SA-8 Pegasus 1. |
AS-103 (also known as SA-9) was the third orbital flight test of a boilerplate Apollo spacecraft, and the first flight of a Pegasus micrometeroid detection satellite. Also known as SA-9, it was the third operational launch of a two-stage Saturn I launch vehicle.
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| Photo: Cameraman recording the flight of Saturn 1 that put the Pegasus satellite into orbit on February 16, 1965. |
The launch vehicle consisted of an S-I first stage, an S-IV second stage, and an instrument unit. The spacecraft consisted of a boilerplate command and service module, a launch escape system, and a service module/launch vehicle adapter (BP-16). The Pegasus 1 satellite was enclosed within the service module, attached to the S-IV stage. The orbital configuration consisted of the satellite mounted on the adapter, which remained attached to the instrument unit and the expended S-IV stage. The launch escape system was jettisoned during launch, and the command module was jettisoned after orbital insertion. The satellite weighed approximately 3980 pounds (1805 kg) and was 208 by 84 by 95 inches (5.28 by 2.13 by 2.41 m). The width of the deployed wings was 96 feet (29.3 m).
