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← 1959

1959 · United States Air Force

Explorer 6

successThor Able III | Explorer 6

Explorer 6 was an American satellite designed to study trapped radiation of various energies, galactic cosmic rays, geomagnetism, radio propagation and the flux of micrometeorites. It also tested a scanning device designed for photographing the Earth's cloud cover, and transmitted the first pictures of Earth from a satellite.

Overview

Date / time
August 7, 1959 at 02:24 PM UTC
Outcome
success
Launch site
Space Launch Complex 17A
Mission
Explorer 6
Mission type
Earth Science
Orbit achieved
Elliptical Orbit
Launch vehicle
Thor Able III →
Launch provider
United States Air Force →

Payloads deployed · 1

EXPLORER 6
HEO