Pioneer P-1

Pioneer P-1

The Lunar Probe Pioneer P-1.
Mission type	Lunar Orbiter
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1959-E02
Mission duration	Failure to launch
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Space Technology Laboratories
Launch mass	88.4 kilograms (195 lb)
Dry mass	25.3 kilograms (56 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	24 September 1959, 05:44:52 (1959-09-24UTC05:44:52Z) UTC
Rocket	Atlas C-Able
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, LC-12
Pioneer

Pioneer P-1 was a failed mission in the Pioneer program. The spacecraft was a 1-meter diameter sphere, with a propulsion module. It was launched on 24 September 1959 on an Atlas C-Able launcher. It was to carry a TV camera and a magnetic field sensor. It was to be spin-stabilized and was known as a 'paddlewheel' spacecraft. The Atlas-Able launch vehicle was destroyed in an explosion on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral during a pre-launch static firing. The payload of P-1 spacecraft and Able IV space engine was not present on the launch vehicle when it exploded, and the payload was later used in the P-3 mission.

The only specimen of the Atlas C-Able rocket, intended to carry Pioneer P-1, prior to an explosion during static firing.

External links

• Space Technology Laboratories Documents Archive
• Atlas Able at Encyclopedia Astronautica
• The fascinating story of the World's First Space Engine