 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2020) |
 Pioneer P-30 lunar probe | |
| Mission type | Lunar orbiter |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| Mission duration | Failure to launch |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | TRW Space Technology Laboratories |
| Launch mass | 175.5 kg (387 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 25 September 1960, 15:13:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Atlas D-Able |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, LC-12 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Apogee altitude | 1,290 kilometres (800 mi) |
Pioneer P-30 (also known as Able 5A,[1] Atlas-Able 5A, or Pioneer Y) was intended to be a lunar orbiter probe, but the mission failed shortly after launch on September 25, 1960. The objectives were to place a highly instrumented probe in lunar orbit, to investigate the environment between the Earth and Moon, and to develop technology for controlling and maneuvering spacecraft from Earth. It was equipped to estimate the Moon's mass and topography of the poles, record the distribution and velocity of micrometeorites, and study radiation, magnetic fields, and low frequency electromagnetic waves in space. A mid-course propulsion system and injection rocket would have been the first United States self-contained propulsion system capable of operation many months after launch at great distances from Earth and the first U.S. tests of maneuvering a satellite in space.
- ^ "NASA Science: Missions – Able 5A". Retrieved 20 Feb 2021.