Pioneer 6

Pioneer 6
	; Artist's impression of Pioneer 6
NSSDC ID	1965-105A
Mission goal	Investigation of interplanetary space
Client	NASA
Launcher	Delta-E
construction
Takeoff mass	146 kg
Course of the mission
Start date	December 16, 1965, 07:31 UTC
launch pad	CCAFS , LC-17
End date	December 8, 2000

Pioneer 6 was a space probe from the US space agency NASA as part of the Pioneer program. It was the first of a total of four successful and one failed Pioneer probes to measure solar activity and its impact on interplanetary space. Like the four following probes, it was supposed to take measurements in a heliocentric orbit and warn of solar storms , among other things .

Start the Pioneer 6 probe on a Delta-E - launcher

construction

Pioneer 6 had a cylindrical body with a height of 81 centimeters and a diameter of 94 centimeters. In addition to an internal battery, the probe was covered with a total of 10,368 solar cells to ensure the power supply. The probe was twist stabilized and had several nozzles operated with nitrogen. In addition, two rods aligned with the interplanetary magnetic field provided the necessary stability. There were a total of ten different instruments on board, including a magnetometer , an instrument for measuring the solar wind and an instrument for measuring the cosmic background radiation .

mission

After launch on December 16, 1965, Pioneer 6 was placed in heliocentric orbit between Earth and Venus . A rotation of 60 revolutions per minute around the longitudinal axis of the probe ensured spin stabilization . The measurement results were temporarily stored on a tape drive and then transferred to the ground station. Although only designed for a mission duration of 6 months, data were still retrieved on July 29 and December 15, 1995. Data was also received on October 6, 1997. On December 8, 2000, the 35th anniversary of the mission, contact with the probe was again achieved for about 2 hours. Since the performance of the solar cells continues to decrease, it is not expected that the probe will be able to come into contact again.

Results

The mission was a complete success. Pioneer 6 was designed for a lifespan of about 6 months, but far exceeded it. Your solar storm data has been used by more than a thousand institutions and companies.

Web links and sources

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

Pioneer 6 at NASA: Solar System Exploration (English)
Description of the Pioneer 6 mission in the NSSDC (English)
Bernd Leitenberger: The Pioneer Program