Explorer 41

Explorer 41
Explorer 41 satellite
NamesIMP-G
IMP-5
Interplanetary Monitoring Platform-5
Mission typeSpace physics
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1969-053A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.03990
Mission duration3.5 years (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftExplorer XLI
Spacecraft typeInterplanetary Monitoring Platform
BusIMP
ManufacturerGoddard Space Flight Center
Launch mass175 kg (386 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date21 June 1969, 08:47:58 GMT[1]
RocketThor-Delta E1 (Thor 482 / Delta 069)
Launch siteVandenberg, SLC-2W
ContractorDouglas Aircraft Company
Entered service21 June 1969
End of mission
Last contact23 December 1972
Decay date23 December 1972
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit[2]
RegimeHighly elliptical orbit
Perigee altitude3,920 km (2,440 mi)
Apogee altitude172,912 km (107,443 mi)
Inclination85.10°
Period4840.90 minutes
Instruments
← IMP-E
IMP-I →

Explorer 41, also called IMP-G and IMP-5, was a NASA satellite launched as part of the Explorers program. Explorer 41 launched on 21 June 1969 from Vandenberg AFB, California, with a Thor-Delta E1 launch vehicle. Explorer 41 was the seventh satellite launched as part of the overall Interplanetary Monitoring Platform series, though it received the post-launch designation "IMP-5" because two previous flights had used the "AIMP" ("Anchored IMP") designation instead.[3] It was preceded by the second of those flights, Explorer 35 ([A]IMP-E / AIMP-2), launched in July 1967. Its predecessor in the strict IMP series of launches was Explorer 34, launched in May 1967, which shared a similar design to Explorer 41. The next launch of an IMP satellite was Explorer 43 (IMP-I / IMP-6) in 1971.

  1. ^ McDowell, Jonathan (21 July 2021). "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Trajectory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Joseph H. King (December 1971). IMP Series Report/Bibliography (Report). NASA. Retrieved 4 July 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.