Height : 0. Propelled by the U. None of the vehicles accomplished its intended mission, although some useful data was returned. The first vehicle, Pioneer 0, was launched by the USAF and was destroyed 77 seconds after launch when the rocket's first stage exploded.
Pioneer 1 was the first spacecraft launched by NASA. A programming error in the Pioneer 1 launch vehicle upper stage resulted in Pioneer 1 being given insufficient velocity to escape the Earth's gravitational field. Although lunar orbit was not achieved, it did reach an altitude of , km above Earth and provided data on the extent of the Earth's radiation belts. The vehicle re-entered over the Pacific Ocean 2 days later.
Pioneer 2 also suffered a launch vehicle failure and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere 6 hours and 52 minutes after launch it did not return any significant data. The spin stabilized spacecraft used a paint pattern for thermal control of the multi-instrument payload. A retro-rocket was to have allowed lunar orbit insertion if the moon had ever been reached.
The payload included a TV camera, magnetometer, micrometeoroid impact detector, and radiation detector. For this third U. Air Force launch of a lunar orbiter, engineers introduced a number of changes to the Thor-Able launcher.
Pioneer 2 was the third attempt by the United States to send a spacecraft to orbit the Moon. This was the second official NASA deep space launch, although operations on the ground were handled by the U. Air Force. For this third launch of an STL-built lunar orbiter, engineers introduced a number of changes to the Thor-Able launcher. The probe also now included a new TV scanner and a new type of battery, as well as a new cosmic ray telescope to study the Cherenkov Effect. Pioneer 2, like its predecessors, never reached its target.
Additionally, when the X third stage engine separated, it failed to fire. The information also indicated that micrometeoroid density was higher near Earth than in space.
Thermal control was enabled by covering the surface with a series of removable black and white stripes to control its temperature. According to flight plan 60 hours after lift-off the Falcon retro rocket was to be ignited and the probe to be inserted into an erratic orbit around the moon.
The lifetime of the batteries was two weeks. The launcher was to be a Thor-DM18 Able-1 , which consisted of a Thor first stage and the second and third stages of the Vanguard launch vehicle, which could send 39 kg to the Moon.
The first of three probes was launched on 17 August , but failed after only 77 seconds, when the Thor engine seized.
The probe did not receive a name and is generally refered to as Pioneer-0 or Able Coryn A. In the new study, Bailer-Jones and Farnocchia calculated that the next star that Voyager 1 will pass will be Earth's nearest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri , in 16, years. However, this encounter will be unremarkable, as the craft's closest approach will be 1.
In fact, Voyager 1 is currently 1. Earth's sun is 1. Voyager 2 and Pioneer 11's next close encounters will also be with Proxima Centauri, while Pioneer 10's next flyby will be with the star Ross , a small star These distant encounters might not generate excitement. But Bailer-Jones and Farnocchia predicted other future flybys in which the spacecraft will get remarkably close to stars outside our solar system.
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