Explorer 17

Explorer 17 was a United States satellite launched by the United States to study the Earth's upper atmosphere. It was launched at Cape Canaveral from LC-17B on a Delta-B booster, on April 3, 1963. This was the first satellite of five Atmosphere Explorers. The satellite was also known as:

* Atmosphere Explorer-A (AE-A)
* Explorer 17
* S 6
* 00564

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 spacecraft decayed from orbit after 1,325 days on November 24, 1966.

External links

* [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/multi/explorer.html NASA's Explorer Missions]
* Gunter's Space Page - information on [http://space.skyrocket.de/index_frame.htm?http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/explorer_ae-a.htm Explorer 17]
* [http://www.svengrahn.pp.se/histind/Mystery/Mystery3expl.html Space History Notes]