Pioneer 6, 7, 8, and 9
COSPAR ID |
|
---|---|
Mission duration | Pioneer 6: 58 years, 5 months and 7 days (elapsed) Pioneer 7: 57 years, 9 months and 5 days (elapsed) Pioneer 8: 56 years, 5 months and 9 days (elapsed) Pioneer 9: 18 years, 1 month and 23 days (final) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | TRW |
Launch mass | |
Power | 79 W |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | |
Rocket | LC-17A |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Heliocentric |
Perihelion altitude | between 0.75 to 1 AU |
Aphelion altitude | between 0.99 to 1.2 AU |
Pioneer 6, 7, 8, and 9 were
Purpose
Pioneers 6, 7, 8, and 9 were created to make the first detailed, comprehensive measurements of the
The experiments studied the positive
The spacecraft were important collectors of
Vehicle description
Each craft was identical. They were
The main
Instruments:
- Solar Wind Plasma Faraday Cup (6, 7)
- Cosmic-Ray Telescope (6, 7)
- Electrostatic Analyzer (6, 7, 8)
- Superior Conjunction Faraday Rotation (6, 7)
- Spectral Broadening (6)
- Relativity Investigation (6)
- Uniaxial Fluxgate Magnetometer (6)
- Cosmic-Ray Anisotropy (6, 7, 8, 9)
- Celestial Mechanics (6, 7, 8, 9)
- Two-Frequency Beacon Receiver (6, 7, 8, 9)
- Single-Axis Magnetometer (7, 8)
- Cosmic Dust Detector (8, 9)
- Cosmic Ray Gradient Detector (8, 9)
- Plasma Wave Detector (8)
- Triaxial Magnetometer (9)
- Solar Plasma Detector (9)
- Electric Field Detector (9)
Communications
By ground command, one of five bit rates, one of four data formats, and one of four operating modes could be selected. The five-bit rates were 512, 256, 64, 16, and 8 bit/s. Three of the four data formats contained primarily scientific data and consisted of 32 seven-bit words per frame. One scientific data format was for use at the two highest bit rates. Another was for use at the three lowest bit rates. The third contained data from only the radio propagation experiment. The fourth data format contained mainly engineering data.[5]
The four operating modes were: real-time, telemetry store, duty cycle store, and memory readout. In the real-time mode, data were sampled and transmitted directly (without storage) as specified by the data format and bit rate selected. In the telemetry store mode, data were stored and transmitted simultaneously in the format and at the bit rate selected. In the duty-cycle store mode, a single frame of scientific data was collected and stored at a rate of 512 bit/s. The time interval between the collection and storage of successive frames could be varied by ground command between 2 and 17 min to provide partial data coverage for periods up to 19 hours, as limited by the bit storage capacity. In the memory readout mode, data was read out at whatever bit rate was appropriate to the satellite distance from Earth.[5]
Time line and current status
As stated by
Although NASA described Pioneer 6 as "extant" as of 26 March 2007[update],[8] there has been no contact since December 8, 2000. At this time Pioneer 6 had operated for 12,758 days, making it the oldest operating space probe until it was surpassed by Voyager 2 on August 13, 2012.[9] It is also believed that contact is still possible with Pioneer 7 and 8;[citation needed] only Pioneer 9 is definitely not working.
Pioneer 6
December 16, 1965 Launched at 07:31:00 UTC from Cape Canaveral to a circular solar orbit with a mean distance of 0.8 AU.
December 1995 The prime Traveling-wave tube (TWT) failed sometime after December 1995.
July 1996 Spacecraft commanded to the backup TWT.
October 6, 1997 Tracked with the 70 meter Deep Space Station 43 in Australia. The MIT and ARC Plasma Analyzers, as well as the cosmic ray detector from the University of Chicago, were turned on and working.
December 8, 2000
Successful telemetry contact for about two hours.
-
Launch of Pioneer 6 on aDelta-Erocket
Pioneer 7
August 17, 1966 Launched from Cape Canaveral into solar orbit with a mean distance of 1.1 AU.
March 20, 1986 Flew within 12.3 million kilometers of Halley's Comet and monitored the interaction between the cometary hydrogen tail and the solar wind. It discovered He+ plasma produced by charge exchange of solar wind He++ with neutral cometary material.[10]
March 31, 1995 Tracked successfully. The spacecraft and one of the science instruments were still functioning.
Pioneer 8
December 13, 1967 Launched at 14:08:00 UTC from Cape Canaveral into solar orbit with a mean distance of 1.1 AU from the Sun.[11]
August 22, 1996
The spacecraft commanded to switch to the backup TWT. Downlink signal was re-acquired, one of the science instruments again functioning.
-
Pioneer 8 being prepared for launch
-
Launch of Pioneer 8 on aDelta-E1rocket
Pioneer 9
November 8, 1968 Launched at 09:46:00 UTC from Cape Canaveral into solar orbit with a mean distance of 0.8 AU.
1983 Final contact.
1987 Contact was attempted, but failed.[12]
Pioneer E
August 27, 1969 Launched at 21:59:00 UTC from Cape Canaveral. The launch vehicle was destroyed by
See also
- 17776, a speculative fiction work featuring a sentient Pioneer 9
References
- ^ a b "Pioneer 6". NAS Solar System Exploration website. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ a b "Pioneer 7". NASA's Solar System Exploration website. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ a b "Pioneer 8". NASA's Solar System Exploration website. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ a b "Pioneer 9". NASA's Solar System Exploration website. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "Pioneer 6: NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1965-105A". NASA. Retrieved September 9, 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- .
- ^ a b "Pioneer 6, 7, 8, 9, E Quicklook". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on July 21, 2010.
- ^ NASA - The Pioneer Missions Accessed August 27, 2009
- ^ "Voyager at 35 - Break on Through to the Other Side". nasa.gov. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
- .
- ^ "Pioneer 8". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
- ^ "Pioneer 9". NASA. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
External links
- Pioneer Project Page
- Pioneer 6 Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
- Pioneer 7 Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
- Pioneer 8 Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
- Pioneer 9 Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
- Pioneer E Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
- NSSDC Master Catalog: Spacecraft Pioneer 6
- NSSDC Master Catalog: Spacecraft Pioneer 7
- NSSDC Master Catalog: Spacecraft Pioneer 8
- NSSDC Master Catalog: Spacecraft Pioneer 9
- NSSDC Master Catalog: Spacecraft Pioneer-E