Explorer 18
| Explorer 18 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Research satellite |
| Country: |
 United States
|
| Operator: |
 NASA
|
| COSPAR-ID : | 1963-046A |
| Mission dates | |
| Dimensions: | 138 kg |
| Begin: | November 27, 1963, 2:24 a.m. UTC |
| Starting place: | Cape Canaveral , LC-17 |
| Launcher: | Thor Delta |
| Status: | in orbit, inactive |
| Orbit data | |
| Rotation time : | 5,606 min |
| Track height: | km |
| Orbit inclination : | 35.2 ° |
| Apogee height : | 192,003 km |
| Perigee height : | 4,395 km |
| Eccentricity : | 0.89694 |
Explorer 18 was a satellite of the United States , also known as IMP 1 denotes (Interplanetary Monitoring Platform), which on 27 November 1963 under the Explorer program started successfully.
begin
The 138 kg satellite was launched on November 27, 1963 at 2:24 a.m. UTC with a Thor-Delta rocket from the LC-17 launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station .
mission
Explorer 18 was placed in a very extensive earth orbit. With an orbit inclination of 35.2 °, the satellite reached an apogee (greatest distance) of 192,003 km and a perigee (smallest distance) of 4,395 km. The orbital time was 5,606 minutes (almost four days).
Mission objectives were the exploration of the magnetosphere , particle radiation , cosmic radiation , solar wind and the magnetic field .
The following measuring instruments were carried:
- a tension meter
- a fluxgate magnetometer
- a measuring device to determine the range and the energy loss of cosmic rays
- an ionization chamber with a Geiger counter
- a Faraday mug
- an electrostatic analyzer for the solar wind
Until May 30, 1964, the satellite worked perfectly. With interruptions, further data could be received until May 10, 1965, when the satellite was abandoned. Unfortunately, only the data from the first transmission period were usable.
Whereabouts of the satellite
Explorer 18 remained in earth orbit after the power failure.
See also
Explorer 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x S-1 x 6 (S-2) x 7 (S-1a) x S-46 x 8 (S-30) x S-56 x 9 (S-56a) · S-45 · 10 (P-14) · 11 (S-15) · S-45a · S-55 · 12 (EPE-A) · 13 (S-55) · 14 (EPE-B) · 15 ( EPE-C) · 16 (S-55 b) · 17 (AE-A) · 18 (IMP-A) · 19 (AD-A) · BE-A · 20 (IE-A) · 21 (IMP-B) · 22 (BE-B) · 23 (S 55c) · 24 (AD-B) · 25 (IE-B) · 26 (EPE-D) · 27 (BE-C) · 28 (IMP-C) · 29 (GEOS-A) x 30 (SE-A) x 31 (DME-A) x 32 (AE-B) x 33 (IMP-D) x 34 (IMP-F) x 35 (IMP-E) x 36 (GEOS-B) x 37 (SE-B) x 38 (RAE-A) x 39 (AD-C) x 40 (IE-C) x 41 (IMP-G) x 42 (SAS-A) x 43 ( IMP-H) x 44 (SE-C) x 45 (SSS-A) x 46 (MTS-A) x 47 (IMP-I) x 48 (SAS-B) x 49 (RAE-B) x 50 (IMP -J) · 51 (AE-C) · 52 (IE-D) · 53 (SAS-C) · 54 (AE-D) · 55 (AE-e) · DAD-A · DAD B · 56 (ISEE- 1) · 57 (IUE) · 58 (HCMM) · 59 (ISEE-3 / ICE) · 60 (SAGE) · 61 (magsat) · 62 (DE-A) · 63 (DE-B) · 64 (SME) · 65 (CCE) · 66 (COBE) · 67 (EUVE) · 68 (SAMPEX) · 69 (RXTE) · 70 (FAST) · 71 (ACE) · 72 (SNOE) · 73 (TRACE) · 74 (SWAS) · 75 (WIRE) · 76 (TERRIERS) · 77 (FUSE) · 78 ( IMAGE) · 79 (HETE-2) · 80 (WMAP) · 81 (RHESSI) · 82 (chipsat) · 83 (GALEX) · 84 (Swift) · 85 (THEMIS-A) · 86 (THEMIS-B) · 87 (THEMIS-C) · 88 (THEMIS-D) · 89 (THEMIS-e) · 90 (AIM) · 91 (IBEX) · 92 (WISE) · 93 (NuSTAR) · 94 (IRIS) · 95 (NICER) · 96 (TESS)