SP-4012 NASA HISTORICAL DATA BOOK: VOLUME III
PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS 1969-1978
 

Table 3-64. Explorer 50 Characteristics

 

Also called:

Interplanetary Monitoring Platform J (IMP-J)

Date of launch (range):

Oct. 25, 1973 (ETR)

Launch vehicle:

Delta 1604

Shape:

16-sided (drum-shaped)

Weight (kg):

397.2

Dimensions (m):

1.26, diameter

1.58, height

Power source:

solar arrays plus AgCd battery

Date of reentry:

N/A

Prime contractor:

in-house

Responsible NASA center:

GSFC

Project manager:

William R. Limberis

Project scientist:

Norman F. Hess

Objectives:

To perform detailed and near-continuous studies of the interplanetary environment for orbital periods comparable to several rotations of active solar region and study particle and field interactions in the distant magnetotail.

Experiments (responsible organization):

.

Magnetic fields (GSFQ

Cosmic ray, 2 (GSFC; Univ. of Chicago)

Energetic particles (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Charged particles (Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins)

Electrons and isotopes (California Institute of Technology)

Ions and electrons (Univ. of Maryland)

DC electric fields (GSFQ

AC electric and magnetic fields (Univ. of Iowa)

Low-energy particles (Univ. of Iowa)

Plasma, 2 (Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory; Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Results:

Successful; last in a series of 10 IMPs.

Reference: MOR S-861-73-10, Oct. 12, 1973.


-
Back -