Explorer 17
Explorer 17 (also known as Atmosphere Explorer-A (AE-A) and S6) was a United States satellite, launched at Cape Canaveral from LC-17B on a Delta-B booster, on April 3, 1963, to study the Earth's upper atmosphere. It was the first satellite of five Atmosphere Explorers.
Technical specifications
Explorer 17 was a spin-stabilized sphere 0.95 m in diameter. The spacecraft was vacuum sealed in order to prevent contamination of the local atmosphere. Explorer 17 carried four pressure gauges for the measurement of total neutral particle density, two mass spectrometers for the measurement of certain neutral particle concentrations, and two electrostatic probes for ion concentration and electron temperature measurements. Battery power failed on July 10, 1963. Three of the four pressure gauges and both electrostatic probes operated normally. One spectrometer malfunctioned, and the other operated intermittently.
The successful launch and operating of Explorer 17 allowed scientists for the first time to obtain instantaneous atmospheric density measurements using several independent measuring systems, to measure the atmosphere during a single day under nearly constant local time conditions and geomagnetic activity, and to compare direct measurements of density with those inferred from measurements of perturbations in the satellite period orbit.[1]
The spacecraft decayed from orbit after 1,325 days on November 24, 1966.
References
- ^ Newton, George P.; Horowitz, Richard; Priester, Wolfgang (July 1965). "Atmospheric Density and Temperature Variations from the Explorer XVII Satellite and a Further Comparison with Satellite Drag" (fee required). Planetary and Space Science 13 (7): 599–616. Bibcode 1965P&SS...13..599N. doi:10.1016/0032-0633(65)90042-5.
External links
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Italics indicate probes that failed to deploy or otherwise malfunctioned
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Luna E-6 No.2 | OPS 0048 | OPS 0180 | Luna E-6 No.3 | Syncom 1 | OPS 0240 | OPS 0583 | OPS 0627 · P-11 No.1 | Kosmos 13 | OPS 0720 | Luna 4 | Explorer 17 | Transit 5A-2 | DS-P1 No.2 | Kosmos 14 | Kosmos 15 | OPS 1008 | OPS 1298 | Kosmos 16 | Telstar 2 | Midas 7 · Dash 1 · ERS-5 · ERS-6 · Westford 2 | Mercury-Atlas 9 (Balloon Subsatellite 2 · Flashing Light Unit) | OPS 0924 | Kosmos 17 | Kosmos 18 | DS-MT No.1 | OPS 0954 | Midas 8 · ERS-7 · ERS-8 | Vostok 5 | FTV-1292 · Solrad 6A · LOFTI 2B · Surcal 3 · Radose 112 | Transit 5A-3 | Vostok 6 | TIROS-7 | OPS 0999 · Hitchhiker 1 | GRS | OPS 1440 | Zenit-2 No.12 | OPS 1467 | OPS 1266 | Midas 9 · Dash 2 · ERS-9 · ERS-10 | Syncom 2 | OPS 1370 | Kosmos 19 | DS-A1 No.3 | OPS 1419 | OPS 1561 · LAMPO | OPS 1947 | OPS 1353 | OPS 1610 | Transit 5BN-1 · Transit 5E-1 | Vela 1A · Vela 1B · ERS-12 | Kosmos 20 | DS-A1 No.4 | OPS 2196 | OPS 2437 · Hitchhiker 2 | Polyot 1 | OPS 2268 | Kosmos 21 | Kosmos 22 | Explorer 18 | Atlas-Centaur 2 | OPS 2260 | Zenit-2 No.14 | Transit 5BN-2 · Transit 5E-2 | Kosmos 23 | OPS 2372 | Kosmos 24 | Explorer 19 | TIROS-8 | OPS 1388 · Hitchhiker 3
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Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Manned flights are indicated in bold text. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in brackets.
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