 as-104 was the fourth orbital test of a boilerplate apollo spacecraft, and the second flight of the pegasus micrometeroid detection satellite. it was launched by sa-8, the ninth saturn i carrier rocket. ==objectives== the primary mission objective was to demonstrate the launch vehicle iterative guidance mode and evaluation of system accuracy. the launch trajectory was similar to that of mission as-103. the saturn launch vehicle (sa-8) and payload were similar to those of mission as-103 except that a single reaction control engine assembly was mounted on the boilerplate service module (bp-26) and the assembly was instrumented to acquire additional data on launch environment temperatures. this assembly also differed from the one on the as-101 mission in that two of the four engines were of a prototype configuration instead of all engines being simulated. ==launch== as-104 was launched from cape kennedy launch complex 37b at 02:35:01 a.m. est (07:35:01 gmt) on may 25. 1965, the first nighttime launch in the saturn i series. a built-in 35 minute hold was used to ensure that launch time coincided with the opening of the launch window. the launch was normal and the payload was inserted into orbit approximately 10.6 minutes after lift-off. the total mass placed in orbit, including the spacecraft, pegasus b, adapter, instrument unit, and s-iv stage, was 34,113 pounds (15,473&nbsp;kg). the perigee and apogee were 314.0 and 464.1 miles (505 an
1965_in_the_United_States Apollo_program Spacecraft_launched_in_1965