Names | GEOS-1 GEOS-A Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite |
---|---|
Mission type | Earth science |
Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | 1965-089A |
SATCAT no. | 01726 |
Mission duration | 2 years (achieved) 59 years and 19 days (in orbit) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Explorer XXIX |
Manufacturer | Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory[1] |
Launch mass | 387 kg (853 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 6 November 1965, 18:38:43UTC[2] |
Rocket | Thor-Delta E (Thor 457 / Delta 034) |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral, LC-17B |
Contractor | Douglas Aircraft Company |
Entered service | 6 November 1965 |
End of mission | |
Last contact | 15 January 1968 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit[3] |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Perigee altitude | 1,113 km (692 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 2,275 km (1,414 mi) |
Inclination | 59.40° |
Period | 120.30 minutes |
Instruments | |
Laser Tracking Reflectors NASA Minitrack System Optical Beacon System Radio Doppler System Radio Range/Rate System SECOR Range Transponder | |
Explorer program |
Explorer 29, also called GEOS 1 or GEOS A, acronym to Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite, was a NASA satellite launched as part of the Explorer program, being the first of the two satellites GEOS. Explorer 29 was launched on 6 November 1965 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a Thor-Delta E launch vehicle.[4]
Explorer 29 was a gravity-gradient-stabilized, solar cell powered unit designed exclusively for geodetic studies. It was the first successful active spacecraft of the National Geodetic Satellite Program.[4]
Display
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).