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Explorer 6
Explorer 6, or S-2, was a NASA satellite, launched on 7 August 1959, at 14:24:20 GMT. It was a small, spherical satellite designed to study trapped radiation of various energies, galactic cosmic rays, geomagnetism, radio propagation in the upper atmosphere, and the flux of micrometeorites. It also tested a scanning device designed for photographing the Earth's cloud cover. On 14 August 1959, Explorer 6 took the first photos of Earth from a satellite.
This experiment measured the electron density near the satellite. The observational equipment comprised two coherent transmitters operating at 108 and 378 MHz. Doppler difference frequency and change in Faraday rotation of the 108 MHz signal were observed. Signals were observed from the receiving station at Hawaii for 20 to 70 minutes during each of eight passes during 11 days. Severe fading and a strong magnetic storm added to difficulties in data interpretation. The 378 MHz beacon transmitter failure terminated the experiment.
A fluxgate magnetometer was used to measure the component of the magnetic field parallel to the spin axis of the vehicle. The measurements, when combined with those made with the search coil magnetometer (which measured components of the ambient field perpendicular to spin axis of vehicle) and the aspect sensor, where intended to determine the direction and magnitude of the ambient magnetic field. It was intended to obtain measurements at altitudes up to 8 Earth radii, but due to permanent multipole disturbances within the vehicle, the fluxgate magnetometer became saturated and returned no data. Thus, information was available from only the search coil and the aspect indicator.
The instrumentation for this experiment consisted of a Neher-type integrating ionization chamber and an Anton 302 Geiger–Müller tube (GM). Due to the complex nonuniform shielding of the detectors, only approximate energy threshold values were available. The ion chamber responded omnidirectionally to electrons and protons with energies greater than 1.5 and 23.6 MeV, respectively. The GM tube responded omnidirectionally to electrons and protons with energies greater than 2.9 and 36.4 MeV respectively. Counts from the GM tube and pulses from the ion chamber were accumulated in separate registers and telemetered by the analog system. The time that elapsed between the first two ion chamber pulses following a data transmission and the accumulation time for 1024 GM tube counts were telemetered digitally. Very little digital data were actually telemetered. The ion chamber operated normally from launch through 25 August 1959. The GM tube operated normally from launch through 6 October 1959.
A micrometeorite detector (micrometeorite momentum spectrometer), which employed piezoelectric crystal microphones as sensing elements, was used to obtain statistics on the momentum flux and the variations of flux of micrometeorites. Although pulses were detected, the experiment returned no data of scientific value.
A triple-coincidence omnidirectional proportional counter telescope was used to observe protons (with E>75 MeV) and electrons (with E>13 MeV) in the terrestrial trapped radiation region. The scientific objective of the telescopes was to determine some of the properties of high-energy radiation in interplanetary space, including the proportion of counts due to X-rays versus those due to protons and other high-energy particles. Comparison with results from the Cosmic Ray Ionization Chamber makes it possible to determine the type and energy of particles responsible for the measurement.
Each telescope consists of seven proportional counter tubes, six in a concentric ring around the seventh running parallel along their lengths. These bundles of tubes lie on their sides projecting through the top of one of the equipment boxes in the hexagonal base of Ranger 1. Three of the outer tubes are exposed to space and three project into the equipment box. Each set of three is connected electronically into a group that feeds into a pulse amplifier and pulse shaper. The central tube feeds into its own equivalent circuit.
The two telescopes were designated a "low-energy" and "high-energy" telescope, differing only in the amount of shielding and its configuration. The counters in the high-energy telescope were 3-inch long, 0.5-inch diameter brass tubes with a thickness of 0.028 inches. A lead shield of 5 grams per cm2 thickness surrounds the entire assembly. The low-energy unit has the same size tubes but made of steel with a wall thickness of 0.508 ± 0.0025-mm. Half the assembly has 5 grams per cm2 lead shielding along the length of the tubes. The unshielded half of the assembly is the exposed portion that particles can reach without encountering spacecraft structural material, giving an angular resolution of under 180° for low-energy particles. The low-energy telescope can detect protons with energies greater than or equal to 10 MeV and electrons greater than or equal to 0.5 MeV. The high-energy telescope detects 75 MeV and above protons and 13 MeV and above electrons in triple-coincidence, and bremsstrahlung above 200 keV in the central tube.
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Explorer 6 AI simulator
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Explorer 6
Explorer 6, or S-2, was a NASA satellite, launched on 7 August 1959, at 14:24:20 GMT. It was a small, spherical satellite designed to study trapped radiation of various energies, galactic cosmic rays, geomagnetism, radio propagation in the upper atmosphere, and the flux of micrometeorites. It also tested a scanning device designed for photographing the Earth's cloud cover. On 14 August 1959, Explorer 6 took the first photos of Earth from a satellite.
This experiment measured the electron density near the satellite. The observational equipment comprised two coherent transmitters operating at 108 and 378 MHz. Doppler difference frequency and change in Faraday rotation of the 108 MHz signal were observed. Signals were observed from the receiving station at Hawaii for 20 to 70 minutes during each of eight passes during 11 days. Severe fading and a strong magnetic storm added to difficulties in data interpretation. The 378 MHz beacon transmitter failure terminated the experiment.
A fluxgate magnetometer was used to measure the component of the magnetic field parallel to the spin axis of the vehicle. The measurements, when combined with those made with the search coil magnetometer (which measured components of the ambient field perpendicular to spin axis of vehicle) and the aspect sensor, where intended to determine the direction and magnitude of the ambient magnetic field. It was intended to obtain measurements at altitudes up to 8 Earth radii, but due to permanent multipole disturbances within the vehicle, the fluxgate magnetometer became saturated and returned no data. Thus, information was available from only the search coil and the aspect indicator.
The instrumentation for this experiment consisted of a Neher-type integrating ionization chamber and an Anton 302 Geiger–Müller tube (GM). Due to the complex nonuniform shielding of the detectors, only approximate energy threshold values were available. The ion chamber responded omnidirectionally to electrons and protons with energies greater than 1.5 and 23.6 MeV, respectively. The GM tube responded omnidirectionally to electrons and protons with energies greater than 2.9 and 36.4 MeV respectively. Counts from the GM tube and pulses from the ion chamber were accumulated in separate registers and telemetered by the analog system. The time that elapsed between the first two ion chamber pulses following a data transmission and the accumulation time for 1024 GM tube counts were telemetered digitally. Very little digital data were actually telemetered. The ion chamber operated normally from launch through 25 August 1959. The GM tube operated normally from launch through 6 October 1959.
A micrometeorite detector (micrometeorite momentum spectrometer), which employed piezoelectric crystal microphones as sensing elements, was used to obtain statistics on the momentum flux and the variations of flux of micrometeorites. Although pulses were detected, the experiment returned no data of scientific value.
A triple-coincidence omnidirectional proportional counter telescope was used to observe protons (with E>75 MeV) and electrons (with E>13 MeV) in the terrestrial trapped radiation region. The scientific objective of the telescopes was to determine some of the properties of high-energy radiation in interplanetary space, including the proportion of counts due to X-rays versus those due to protons and other high-energy particles. Comparison with results from the Cosmic Ray Ionization Chamber makes it possible to determine the type and energy of particles responsible for the measurement.
Each telescope consists of seven proportional counter tubes, six in a concentric ring around the seventh running parallel along their lengths. These bundles of tubes lie on their sides projecting through the top of one of the equipment boxes in the hexagonal base of Ranger 1. Three of the outer tubes are exposed to space and three project into the equipment box. Each set of three is connected electronically into a group that feeds into a pulse amplifier and pulse shaper. The central tube feeds into its own equivalent circuit.
The two telescopes were designated a "low-energy" and "high-energy" telescope, differing only in the amount of shielding and its configuration. The counters in the high-energy telescope were 3-inch long, 0.5-inch diameter brass tubes with a thickness of 0.028 inches. A lead shield of 5 grams per cm2 thickness surrounds the entire assembly. The low-energy unit has the same size tubes but made of steel with a wall thickness of 0.508 ± 0.0025-mm. Half the assembly has 5 grams per cm2 lead shielding along the length of the tubes. The unshielded half of the assembly is the exposed portion that particles can reach without encountering spacecraft structural material, giving an angular resolution of under 180° for low-energy particles. The low-energy telescope can detect protons with energies greater than or equal to 10 MeV and electrons greater than or equal to 0.5 MeV. The high-energy telescope detects 75 MeV and above protons and 13 MeV and above electrons in triple-coincidence, and bremsstrahlung above 200 keV in the central tube.