Mission type | Technology |
---|---|
Operator | USAF |
COSPAR ID | 1963-042B[1] |
SATCAT no. | 682 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Bus | P-11 |
Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin / MIT |
Launch mass | 60 kilograms (130 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | October 29, 1963, 21:19[2] | UTC
Rocket | Thor SLV-2A Agena D 386 |
Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-1W |
End of mission | |
Deactivated | May 23, 1965 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Eccentricity | 0.02201 |
Perigee altitude | 285 kilometres (177 mi) |
Apogee altitude | 585 kilometres (364 mi) |
Inclination | 89.9° |
Period | 93.4 minutes |
Epoch | October 29, 1963 |
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Thor_SLV-2A_Agena_D_with_Corona_72_%28Oct._29_1963%29.gif/80px-Thor_SLV-2A_Agena_D_with_Corona_72_%28Oct._29_1963%29.gif)
Hitchhiker 2 (or P-11 4202, P-11 AS and OPS 3316) was a satellite launched by U.S. Air Force. It was launched with the aim of studying and measuring cosmic radiation. The satellite was the second successful satellite of the P-11 program, following the failure of the first Hitchhiker satellite in March 1963. It was launched on October 29, 1963 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on a Thor-Agena launch vehicle.
On May 23, 1965, the satellite re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.
Instruments
[edit]- 1 Geiger tube (40-4 MeV)
- 1 Faraday cup plasma
- 1 Electron detector (0.3-5.0 MeV)
- 1 Proton detector (0.7-5.3 MeV)
- 2 electrostatic analysers (4-100 keV)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center. "Hitch Hiker 2". NSSDC Master Catalog. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved June 1, 2018.