Explorer 4 was an American satellite launched on 26 July 1958. It was instrumented by Dr. James van Allen's group. The Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) had initially planned two satellites for the purposes of studying the Van Allen radiation belts and the effects of nuclear explosions upon these belts, however Explorer 4 was the only such satellite launched as the other, Explorer 5, suffered launch failure.
The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) was a space observatory detecting photons with energies from 20 keV to 30 GeV, in Earth orbit from 1991 to 2000. The observatory featured four main telescopes in one spacecraft, covering X-rays and gamma rays, including various specialized sub-instruments and detectors. Following 14 years of effort, the observatory was launched from Space Shuttle Atlantis during STS-37 on April 5, 1991, and operated until its deorbit on June 4, 2000. It was deployed in low Earth orbit at 450 km (280 mi) to avoid the Van Allen radiation belt. It was the heaviest astrophysical payload ever flown at that time at 16,300 kilograms (35,900 lb).
Explorer 6, or S-2, was a NASA satellite, launched on 7 August 1959, at 14:24:20 GMT. It was a small, spherical satellite designed to study trapped radiation of various energies, galactic cosmic rays, geomagnetism, radio propagation in the upper atmosphere, and the flux of micrometeorites. It also tested a scanning device designed for photographing the Earth's cloud cover. On 14 August 1959, Explorer 6 took the first photos of Earth from a satellite.
HEGRA, which stands for High-Energy-Gamma-Ray Astronomy, was an atmospheric Cherenkov telescope for Gamma-ray astronomy. With its various types of detectors, HEGRA took data between 1987 and 2002, at which point it was dismantled in order to build its successor, MAGIC, at the same site.
A neutrino detector is a physics apparatus which is designed to study neutrinos. Because neutrinos only weakly interact with other particles of matter, neutrino detectors must be very large to detect a significant number of neutrinos. Neutrino detectors are often built underground, to isolate the detector from cosmic rays and other background radiation. The field of neutrino astronomy is still very much in its infancy – the only confirmed extraterrestrial sources as of 2018 are the Sun and the supernova 1987A in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud. Another likely source is the blazar TXS 0506+056 about 3.7 billion light years away. Neutrino observatories will "give astronomers fresh eyes with which to study the universe".
Explorer 5 was a United States satellite with a mass of 17.43 kg (38.4 lb). It was the last of the original series of Explorer satellites built, designed, and operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The Small Astronomy Satellite 2, also known also as SAS-2, SAS B or Explorer 48, was a NASA gamma ray telescope. It was launched on 15 November 1972 into the low Earth orbit with a periapsis of 443 km and an apoapsis of 632 km. It completed its observations on 8 June 1973.
A cosmic-ray observatory is a scientific installation built to detect high-energy-particles coming from space called cosmic rays. This typically includes photons, electrons, protons, and some heavier nuclei, as well as antimatter particles. About 90% of cosmic rays are protons, 9% are alpha particles, and the remaining ~1% are other particles.
Explorer 18, also called IMP-A, IMP-1, Interplanetary Monitoring Platform-1 and S-74, was a NASA satellite launched as part of the Explorer program. Explorer 18 was launched on 27 November 1963 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida, with a Thor-Delta C launch vehicle. Explorer 18 was the first satellite of the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform (IMP). Explorer 21 (IMP-B) launched in October 1964 and Explorer 28 (IMP-C) launched in May 1965 also used the same general spacecraft design.
Gamma-ray astronomy is a subfield of astronomy where scientists observe and study celestial objects and phenomena in outer space which emit cosmic electromagnetic radiation in the form of gamma rays, i.e. photons with the highest energies at the very shortest wavelengths. Radiation below 100 keV is classified as X-rays and is the subject of X-ray astronomy.
Explorer 14, also called EPE-B or Energetic Particles Explorer-B, was a NASA spacecraft instrumented to measure cosmic-ray particles, trapped particles, solar wind protons, and magnetospheric and interplanetary magnetic fields. It was the second of the S-3 series of spacecraft, which also included Explorer 12, 14, 15, and 26. It was launched on 2 October 1962, aboard a Thor-Delta launch vehicle.
The Tunka experiment now named TAIGA measures air showers, which are initiated by charged cosmic rays or high energy gamma rays. TAIGA is situated in Siberia in the Tunka valley close to lake Baikal. Meanwhile, TAIGA consists of five different detector systems: Tunka-133, Tunka-Rex, and Tunka-Grande for charged cosmic rays; Tunka-HiSCORE and Tunka-IACT for gamma astronomy. From the measurements of each detector it is possible to reconstruct the arrival direction, energy and type of the cosmic rays, where the accuracy is enhanced by the combination of different detector systems.
Explorer 12, also called EPE-A or Energetic Particles Explorer-A and as S3), was a NASA satellite built to measure the solar wind, cosmic rays, and the Earth's magnetic field. It was the first of the S-3 series of spacecraft, which also included Explorer 12, 14, 15, and 26. It was launched on 16 August 1961, aboard a Thor-Delta launch vehicle. It ceased transmitting on 6 December 1961 due to power failure.
Explorer 28, also called IMP-C, IMP-3 and Interplanetary Monitoring Platform-3, was a NASA satellite launched on 29 May 1965 to study space physics, and was the third spacecraft launched in the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform program. It was powered by chemical batteries and solar panels. There were 7 experiments on board, all devoted to particle studies. Performance was normal until late April 1967, when intermittent problems began. It stayed in contact until 12 May 1967, when contact was lost. The orbit decayed until it re-entered the atmosphere on 4 July 1968. The spacecraft design was similar to its predecessors Explorer 18 (IMP-A), launched in November 1963, and Explorer 21 (IMP-B), launched in October 1964, though this satellite was a few kilograms lighter. The successor Explorer 33 (IMP-D) began the use of a new design.
Explorer 21, also called IMP-B, IMP-2 and Interplanetary Monitoring Platform-2, was a NASA satellite launched as part of Explorer program. Explorer 21 was launched on 4 October 1964, at 03:45:00 GMT from Cape Canaveral (CCAFS), Florida, with a Thor-Delta C launch vehicle. Explorer 21 was the second satellite of the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform, and used the same general design as its predecessor, Explorer 18 (IMP-A), launched the previous year, in November 1963. The following Explorer 28 (IMP-C), launched in May 1965, also used a similar design.
Explorer 34, was a NASA satellite launched as part of Explorer program. Explorer 34 as launched on 24 May 1967 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, with Thor-Delta E1 launch vehicle. Explorer 34 was the fifth satellite launched as part of the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform program, but was known as "IMP-4" because the preceding launch was more specifically part of the "Anchored IMP" sub-program. The spacecraft was put into space between the launches of Explorer 33 in 1966 and Explorer 35 in July 1967, but the next satellite to use Explorer 34's general design was Explorer 41, which flew in 1969.
Explorer 41, also called IMP-G and IMP-5, was a NASA satellite launched as part of the Explorers program. Explorer 41 launched on 21 June 1969 from Vandenberg AFB, California, with a Thor-Delta E1 launch vehicle. Explorer 41 was the seventh satellite launched as part of the overall Interplanetary Monitoring Platform series, though it received the post-launch designation "IMP-5" because two previous flights had used the "AIMP" designation instead. It was preceded by the second of those flights, Explorer 35, launched in July 1967. Its predecessor in the strict IMP series of launches was Explorer 34, launched in May 1967, which shared a similar design to Explorer 41. The next launch of an IMP satellite was Explorer 43 in 1971.
Explorer 43, also called IMP-I and IMP-6, was a NASA satellite launched as part of the Explorers program. Explorer 43 was launched on 13 March 1971 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) with a Thor-Delta M6 launch vehicle. Explorer 43 was the sixth satellite of the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform.
Explorer 47, was a NASA satellite launched as part of the Explorers program. Explorer 47 was launched on 23 September 1972 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a Thor-Delta 1604. Explorer 47 was the ninth overall launch of the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform series, but received the launch designation "IMP-7" because two previous "Anchored IMP" flights had used "AIMP" instead.
Explorer 50, also known as IMP-J or IMP-8, was a NASA satellite launched to study the magnetosphere. It was the eighth and last in a series of the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform.
