1962 · United States Air Force
Ranger 3
successAtlas Agena B | Ranger 3
Ranger 3 was a spacecraft designed to transmit pictures of the lunar surface during the last 10 minutes prior to impacting the Moon. A malfunction in the booster guidance system resulted in excessive spacecraft speed. Ranger 3 missed the Moon by 36,800 km and is now in a heliocentric orbit.
Overview
- Date / time
- January 26, 1962 at 08:30 PM UTC
- Outcome
- success
- Launch site
- Launch Complex 12
- Mission
- Ranger 3
- Mission type
- Lunar Exploration
- Orbit achieved
- Heliocentric N/A