Explorer 6

Explorer 6
Type:	Research satellite
Country:	United States
Operator:	NASA
COSPAR-ID :	1959-004A (1959-Delta-1)
Mission dates
Dimensions:	64.4 kg
Begin:	August 7, 1959, 14:24 UTC
Starting place:	Cape Canaveral AFS LC 17-A
Launcher:	Thor-Able III 134
Flight duration:	almost 2 years
Status:	Inoperative from October 6, 1959, burned up on June 30, 1961
Orbit data
Rotation time :	765 min
Orbit inclination :	47 °
Apogee height :	42400 km
Perigee height :	245 km

Launch of the Thor Able missile with Explorer 6

Explorer 6 was an American satellite that was launched on August 7, 1959.

Structure and Mission

First space image of the earth: a band of clouds over the central Pacific, seen from a position over Mexico

The small, spherical satellite was designed as part of the Explorer program to study geomagnetism and the propagation of radio waves in the higher atmosphere , among other things . A camera on board was also used for the first time to take pictures of the earth from space. Explorer 6 was placed in a very elliptical orbit. The satellite was spin stabilized and spun at 2.8 revolutions per second. Four solar cells , which were fixed around the equator of the satellite, were used to recharge the batteries in space, of which only three unfolded completely. The last contact with the satellite was made on October 6, 1959.

Web links

Commons : Explorer 6  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Explorer 6 in the NSSDCA Master Catalog , accessed on August 1, 2014 (English).
2. ↑ Explorer in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed October 1, 2012 (English).
3. ↑ 50 years of Earth Observation. ESA, October 3, 2007, accessed July 10, 2009 .