Pioneer 5

Pioneer 5
Pioneer 5 with unfolded solar panels
NSSDC ID	1960-001A
Mission goal	Investigation of interplanetary space
Client	NASA
Launcher	Thor Able
construction
Takeoff mass	43.2 kg
Course of the mission
Start date	March 11, 1960, 13:00 UTC
launch pad	CCAFS , LC-17
End date	June 24, 1960
03/11/1960 begin 06/24/1960 Final termination of the radio signals

Pioneer 5 was a space probe from the US space agency NASA . As part of the Pioneer program , it was a single mission to test new technologies and investigate interplanetary space.

construction

Schematic overview of the Pioneer-5 instruments

The original plan was to use the probe to fly by Venus . Since the start window closed before all technical difficulties were resolved, NASA decided to go on a mission to investigate interplanetary space .

Pioneer 5 was spherical in shape, 66 cm in diameter. After unfolding the solar panels, it had a span of 140 cm. She weighed 43.2 kilograms, of which 18.2 kilograms were attributable to the instruments on board. The probe had several measuring instruments on board, including a Geiger counter , a search lobe magnetometer, a micrometeorite detector and a proportional counter . Communication took place via a 5-watt or 150-watt transmitter, with the 5-watt transmitter working as a preamplifier for the 150-watt transmitter.

mission

After launch, Pioneer 5 was placed in a heliocentric orbit between Venus and Earth's orbit. On April 30th there were first problems with the data transfer. On June 26, 1960, contact with the probe was finally broken off. The last time you had contact with her was from a distance of 36.2 million kilometers. This was a record up to Mariner 2 .

Results

The mission was a success: Pioneer 5 was designed to last around a month, which it far exceeded. The new technologies, including digital data transmission for the first time, were successfully tested. In addition, the existence of an interplanetary magnetic field was confirmed. In addition, the probe was able to detect solar storm particles.

Web links and sources

Commons : Pioneer (space probe program)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Description of the Pioneer 5 mission in the NSSDC (English)
• Description of the Pioneer 5 mission at nasa.gov/Solar System Exploration (English)
• Bernd Leitenberger: The Pioneer Program