1958-007
The second ARPA/USAF/STL probe was launched at 0842 from 1958 Oct 11 by Thor Able from Canaveral. The second stage cut off too soon, and final velocity was 0.26 km/s short of the planned 10.74 km/s. Pioneer I reached an apogee of 113840 km. It reentered on Oct 13.
The vernier rockets fired; they failed to separate on command. They probably added about 20m/s to the velocity. The apogee motor firing would have put Pioneer in Earth orbit but ignition failed due to low battery temperatures.
There were 8 verniers with a total impulse of 1.89 kNs.
| Pioneer 1 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 Oct 11 | 0842:13 | Launch by Thor Able | |
| 0844:49 | T+2:36 Thor MECO 95 km 4.854 Vi | -5100 x 451 x 32.7 | |
| 0844:50? | Able burn | ||
| 0846:36 | T+4:23 Able SECO 333 km | 72.65 -2807 x 1585 x 31.60 | |
| 0846:37? | Altair X248A3 burn | ||
| 0847:20 | T+5:05 Altair burnout 445 km | ||
| 0850:02? | T+7:49? Altair sep | ||
| -870 x 105600? x 35.9 | |||
| 0850? | Vernier burn | ||
| -870 x 113341 x 35.89 | |||
| T+12:55? Verniers jettison failed | |||
| 1958 Oct 12 | 0640? | Apogee | |
| 1958 Oct 13 | 0359 | Reentry 21S 88.1W | |
Payload:
- Retrorocket
- IR TV scanner
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