Pegasus (satellite)
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Fairchild Hiller | |
Country of origin | United States |
---|---|
Operator | NASA |
Applications | Micrometeoroid detection |
Specifications | |
Launch mass | 1,450 kilograms (3,200 lb) |
Dimensions | 29 meters (96 ft) wide by 4.1 meters (13.6 ft) long |
Power | Solar cells |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Production | |
Status | retired |
Built | 3 |
Launched | 3 |
Operational | February 16, 1965 |
Retired | August 29, 1968 |
Failed | 0 |
Maiden launch | February 16, 1965 |
Last launch | July 30, 1965 |
Configuration | |
Deployment of a Pegasus Satellite |
The Pegasus Project was a NASA initiative to study the frequency of micrometeoroid impacts on spacecraft by means of a constellation of three satellites launched in 1965.[1][2] All three Pegasus satellites were launched by Saturn I rockets, and remained connected with their upper stages.
The Pegasus satellites were named for the
The
A television camera, mounted on the interior of the Service Module adapter, provided pictures of the satellite deploying in space and as historian Roger E. Bilstein has written, "captured a vision of the eerie silent wings of Pegasus I as they haltingly deployed."[3] The satellite exposed more than 2,300 square feet (210 m2) of instrumented surface, with thickness varying up to 0.016-inch (0.41 mm).
Ernst Stuhlinger, then director of the MSFC Research Projects Laboratory, noted that all three Pegasus missions provided more than data on micrometeoroid penetration. Scientists also were able to gather data regarding gyroscopic motion and orbital characteristics of rigid bodies in space, lifetimes of electronic components in the space environment, and thermal control systems and the degrading effects of space on thermal control coatings. Space historian Roger Bilstein reported that for physicists the Pegasus missions provided additional knowledge about the radiation environments of space, the Van Allen radiation belts and other phenomena.
Orbits
- Pegasus 1
- Launched: February 16, 1965
- Launch vehicle: A-103
- Orbital inclination: 31.7 degrees.
- Perigee: 510 km
- Apogee: 726 km
- Launch weight: 10.5 tons.
- Dry weight: 1451.5 kg
- Decayed: September 17, 1978
- International Designator: 1965-009A
- Pegasus 2
- Launched: May 25, 1965
- Launch vehicle: A-104
- Orbital inclination: 31.7 degrees.
- Perigee: 502 km
- Apogee: 740 km
- Launch weight: 10.46 tons.
- Dry weight: 1451.5 kg
- Decayed: November 3, 1979
- International Designator: 1965-039A
- Pegasus 3
- Launched: July 30, 1965
- Launch vehicle: A-105
- Orbital inclination: 28.9 degrees.
- Perigee: 441 km
- Apogee: 449 km
- Launch weight: 10.5 tons.
- Dry weight: 1451.5 kg
- Decayed: August 4, 1969
- International Designator: 1965-060A
References
- .
- ^ Johnson, W. G. (November 1966). "The meteoroid satellite project Pegasus First summary report". NASA Technical Reports Server. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ Bilstein, Roger E. Bilstein (1996). Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicle. Washington, DC: NASA History Office.
External links
- Encyclopedia Astronautica entry
- A film clip showing Pegasus 2 liftoff and animation (May 1965) is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the