Ranger-1 ( Eng. Ranger 1 ) is an American automatic interplanetary station launched on August 23, 1961 , from Cape Canaveral with the Atlas-Agen B booster rocket . The main goal of the launch is to work out the output of the Ranger devices. In general, the launch of the device is considered unsuccessful, since it was not possible to re-enable the engine of the II stage.
| Ranger 1 | |
|---|---|
 Engineers are working on one of the units with the Ranger-1 electronics, June 1, 1961 | |
| Customer | NASA |
| Manufacturer |  Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Operator | |
| Tasks | Selenography |
| Satellite | Of the earth |
| Launch pad | Cape Canaveral |
| Launch vehicle | Atlas Agen B |
| Launch | August 23, 1961 at 6:02:00 UTC [1] |
| Entry into orbit | August 23, 1961 at 10:02:00 UTC |
| Number of turns | 110 |
| Descent from orbit | August 30, 1961 |
| NSSDC ID | 1961-021A |
| SCN | 00173 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 306.2 kg |
| Power | 150 watts |
| Power supplies | Solar panels |
| The term of active existence | 7 days |
| Orbit elements | |
| Semimajor axis | 6 690.3 km |
| Eccentricity | 0.019939 |
| Mood | 32.9 ° |
| Circulation period | 91.1 minutes |
| Apocenter | 446 km |
| Pericenter | 179 km |
| Target equipment | |
| Scanning telescope | scanning the Earth's surface in the wavelength range: 1050–1350 A and studying neutral hydrogen in the geocoron |
| Magnetometer | measuring the intensity and determining the direction of the magnetic field, as well as its temporal and spatial variations |
| Electrostatic analyzer | measuring the energy of protons and low-energy electrons in the solar plasma and determining the direction of their movement |
| Medium Energy Particle Detectors | registration of protons and electrons in the solar plasma and measurements of the radiation they cause |
| Ionization chamber | studying primary radiation and radiation in outer space outside the Earth’s atmosphere |
| Micrometeorite particle detector | measurement of micrometeor flows as a function of energy, momentum and direction of motion of these particles |
| Sun X-ray scintillation counters | registration of small variations of x-rays of low energy of solar origin during solar flares |
| Dynamometers | measuring friction between various metals in a space vacuum |
Content
Goals
The following scientific tasks were set over Ranger-1: [2]
- Study of the distribution of neutral hydrogen in the geocoron.
- The study of low-energy particles in solar plasma.
- The study of cosmic radiation.
- The study of x-ray radiation from the sun.
- Registration of meteor particles and La radiation.
- Measurement of the intensity of terrestrial and interplanetary magnetic fields.
- Determination of the magnitude of friction between various metals in space vacuum.
Device
The apparatus consists of a frame - a truss mast, mounted on a hexagonal base, to which two panels with solar cells are attached, a parabolic reflector, as well as an antenna with a high gain. The frame is made of aluminum alloy, the base is made of chromoplatinum alloy using gold . Scientific instruments are fixed on the frame, and the electronics of the device are in six modules. [one]
The total mass of the device is 306.2 kg (frame - 108 kg, scientific instruments - 40 kg, electronic equipment - 110 kg). [2] The height of the apparatus is 4 meters, the scope of the deployed solar panels is 5.18 meters.
The orientation system includes 6 sensors aimed at the Sun and 3 sensors directed towards the Earth . Maneuvering the apparatus is carried out by 10 jet nozzles operating on compressed nitrogen. All nitrogen weighing 1.1 kg is stored in a spherical cylinder with a diameter of 21 cm under a pressure of 210 atmospheres. Sensors and control jet nozzles are located in the lower part of the base of the apparatus. [one]
The device is powered by 2 solar panels with a total area of 1.8 m² with 8680 cells of photovoltaic cells with a total capacity of 150 watts. The mass of solar panels is 23 kg. Electricity is stored in a Silver-Zinc battery weighing 57 kg and a power of 9 kW / h. The battery is able to support the operation of the systems of the device for 2 days.
The communication system includes 2 transmitters, omnidirectional and directional antennas.
Samples of metals in the form of disks are mounted on a shaft driven by an electric motor; as it rotates, they rub against stationary samples of a hemispherical shape. A total of 80 different metal combinations were to be tested.
Sterilization of the device was not provided. [one]
Flight
The launch of the Ranger-1 device took place on August 23, 1961 from Atlas-Agen B launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral . The launch of a new rocket had its own characteristics. The second stage of the launch vehicle was supposed to be launched twice: the first time when the spacecraft was put into a “support” near-Earth orbit and the second time when it was accelerated to the 2nd space velocity. But it was not possible to turn on the engine of the Agen stage again, and the spacecraft entered a non-calculated orbit with an apogee height of 446 km. On August 30, 1961, the device entered the dense atmosphere and burned down. [2]
See also
- Ranger Program
- History of Solar System Research
- List of artificial objects on the moon
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Baevsky A.V. US spacecraft for the study of the moon and the lunar space 1958-1968 . - M .: Production and Publishing Plant VINITI, 1971. - 600 copies.
- ↑ 1 2 3 "National Space Science Data Center - Ranger 1" (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment February 8, 2013. Archived March 4, 2013.