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List of uncrewed NASA missions
Since 1958, NASA has overseen more than 1,000 uncrewed missions into Earth orbit or beyond. It has both launched its own missions and provided funding for private-sector missions. A number of NASA missions, including the Explorers Program, Voyager program, and New Frontiers program, are ongoing.
The Explorer program has launched more than 90 missions since it began more than five decades ago. It has matured into one of NASA's lower-cost mission programs.
The program started as a U.S. Army proposal to place a scientific satellite into orbit during the International Geophysical Year (1957–58). However, that proposal was rejected in favor of the U.S. Navy's Project Vanguard. The Explorer program was later reestablished to catch up with the Soviet Union after the launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957. Explorer 1 was launched January 31, 1958; at this time the project still belonged to the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Besides being the first U.S. satellite, it is known for discovering the Van Allen radiation belt.
The Explorer program was later transferred to NASA, which continued to use the name for an ongoing series of relatively small space missions, typically an artificial satellite with a science focus. Over the years, NASA has launched a series of Explorer spacecraft carrying a wide variety of scientific investigations.
The Pioneer program was a series of NASA uncrewed space missions designed for planetary exploration. There were a number of missions in the program, most notably Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, which explored the outer planets and left the Solar System. Both carry a golden plaque, depicting a man and a woman and information about the origin and the creators of the probes, should any extraterrestrials find them someday.
Additionally, the Pioneer mission to Venus consisted of two components, launched separately. Pioneer Venus 1 (Pioneer Venus Orbiter) was launched in May 1978 and remained in orbit until 1992. Pioneer Venus 2 (Pioneer Venus Multiprobe), launched in August 1978, sent four small probes into the Venusian atmosphere.
Project Echo was the first passive communications satellite experiment. Each spacecraft was a metalized balloon satellite to be inflated in space and acting as a passive reflector of microwave signals. Communication signals were bounced off of them from one point on Earth to another. NASA's Echo 1 satellite was built by Gilmore Schjeldahl Company in Northfield, Minnesota. Following the failure of the Delta rocket carrying Echo 1 on May 13, 1960, Echo 1A was put successfully into orbit by another Thor-Delta, and the first microwave transmission was received on August 12, 1960.
Echo 2 was a 41.1-meter (135 ft) diameter metalized PET film balloon, which was the last balloon satellite launched by Project Echo. It used an improved inflation system to improve the balloon's smoothness and sphericity. It was launched January 25, 1964, on a Thor Agena rocket.
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List of uncrewed NASA missions
Since 1958, NASA has overseen more than 1,000 uncrewed missions into Earth orbit or beyond. It has both launched its own missions and provided funding for private-sector missions. A number of NASA missions, including the Explorers Program, Voyager program, and New Frontiers program, are ongoing.
The Explorer program has launched more than 90 missions since it began more than five decades ago. It has matured into one of NASA's lower-cost mission programs.
The program started as a U.S. Army proposal to place a scientific satellite into orbit during the International Geophysical Year (1957–58). However, that proposal was rejected in favor of the U.S. Navy's Project Vanguard. The Explorer program was later reestablished to catch up with the Soviet Union after the launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957. Explorer 1 was launched January 31, 1958; at this time the project still belonged to the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Besides being the first U.S. satellite, it is known for discovering the Van Allen radiation belt.
The Explorer program was later transferred to NASA, which continued to use the name for an ongoing series of relatively small space missions, typically an artificial satellite with a science focus. Over the years, NASA has launched a series of Explorer spacecraft carrying a wide variety of scientific investigations.
The Pioneer program was a series of NASA uncrewed space missions designed for planetary exploration. There were a number of missions in the program, most notably Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, which explored the outer planets and left the Solar System. Both carry a golden plaque, depicting a man and a woman and information about the origin and the creators of the probes, should any extraterrestrials find them someday.
Additionally, the Pioneer mission to Venus consisted of two components, launched separately. Pioneer Venus 1 (Pioneer Venus Orbiter) was launched in May 1978 and remained in orbit until 1992. Pioneer Venus 2 (Pioneer Venus Multiprobe), launched in August 1978, sent four small probes into the Venusian atmosphere.
Project Echo was the first passive communications satellite experiment. Each spacecraft was a metalized balloon satellite to be inflated in space and acting as a passive reflector of microwave signals. Communication signals were bounced off of them from one point on Earth to another. NASA's Echo 1 satellite was built by Gilmore Schjeldahl Company in Northfield, Minnesota. Following the failure of the Delta rocket carrying Echo 1 on May 13, 1960, Echo 1A was put successfully into orbit by another Thor-Delta, and the first microwave transmission was received on August 12, 1960.
Echo 2 was a 41.1-meter (135 ft) diameter metalized PET film balloon, which was the last balloon satellite launched by Project Echo. It used an improved inflation system to improve the balloon's smoothness and sphericity. It was launched January 25, 1964, on a Thor Agena rocket.