Names | Explorer S-45 NASA S-45 |
---|---|
Mission type | Ionospheric research |
Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | EXS-451 |
Mission duration | Failed to orbit |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Explorer S-45 |
Spacecraft type | Science Explorer |
Bus | S-45 |
Manufacturer | Goddard Space Flight Center |
Launch mass | 33.6 kg (74 lb) |
Power | Solar cells and batteries |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 25 February 1961, 00:13:16 GMT |
Rocket | Juno II (AM-19F) |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral, LC-26B |
Contractor | Army Ballistic Missile Agency |
End of mission | |
Destroyed | Failed to orbit |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit (planned) |
Regime | Highly elliptical orbit |
Perigee altitude | 221 km (137 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 181,100 km (112,500 mi) |
Inclination | 33.0° |
Period | 5013.90 minutes |
Instruments | |
Beacon | |
Explorer program |
Explorer S-45 was a NASA satellite, which was lost in a launch failure in February 1961. The satellite was intended to operate in a highly elliptical orbit, from which it was to have provided data on the shape of the ionosphere,[1] and on the Earth's magnetic field.[2] It was part of the Explorer program, and would have been designated Explorer 10 had it reached orbit. A second identical satellite, Explorer S-45A, also failed to achieve orbit when it was launched.[2]