Explorer 17 was a NASA satellite, launched at Cape Canaveral from LC-17B on a Delta B launch vehicle, on 3 April 1963, at 02:00:02 GMT, to study the Earth's upper atmosphere. It was the first satellite of five in the "Atmosphere Explorer" series.
Explorer 8 was a NASA research satellite launched on 3 November 1960. It was intended to study the temporal and spatial distribution of the electron density, the electron temperature, the ion concentration, the ion mass, the micrometeorite distribution, and the micrometeorite mass in the ionosphere at altitudes between 400 km (250 mi) and 1,600 km (990 mi) and their variation from full sunlit conditions to full shadow, or nighttime, conditions.
The Fast Auroral SnapshoT Explorer was a NASA plasma physics satellite, and was the second spacecraft in the Small Explorer program (SMEX). It was launched on 21 August 1996, from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Pegasus XL launch vehicle. The spacecraft was designed and built by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Flight operations were handled by GSFC for the first three years, and thereafter were transferred to the University of California, Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory.
Dynamics Explorer was a NASA mission, launched on 3 August 1981, and terminated on 28 February 1991. It consisted of two unmanned satellites, DE-1 and DE-2, whose purpose was to investigate the interactions between plasmas in the magnetosphere and those in the ionosphere. The two satellites were launched together into polar coplanar orbits, which allowed them to simultaneously observe the upper and lower parts of the atmosphere.
The Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer was a NASA solar and magnetospheric observatory and was the first spacecraft in the Small Explorer program. It was launched into low Earth orbit on 3 July 1992, from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Scout G-1 launch vehicle. SAMPEX was an international collaboration between NASA and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics of Germany. The Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) is the first of a series of spacecraft that was launched under the Small Explorer (SMEX) program for low-cost spacecraft.
C/NOFS, or Communications/Navigation Outage Forecasting System was a USAF satellite developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate to investigate and forecast scintillations in the Earth's ionosphere. It was launched by an Orbital Sciences Corporation Pegasus-XL launch vehicle at 17:02:48 UTC on 16 April 2008 and decayed on 28 November 2015.
Explorer 54, also known as AE-D, was a NASA scientific satellite belonging to the Atmosphere Explorer series launched on 6 October 1975 from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Thor-Delta 2910 launch vehicle.
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.
The ISEE-1 was an Explorer-class mother spacecraft, International Sun-Earth Explorer-1, was part of the mother/daughter/heliocentric mission. ISEE-1 was a 340.2 kg (750 lb) space probe used to study magnetic fields near the Earth. ISEE-1 was a spin-stabilized spacecraft and based on the design of the prior IMP series of spacecraft. ISEE-1 and ISEE-2 were launched on 22 October 1977, and they re-entered on 26 September 1987.
Student Nitric Oxide Explorer, was a NASA small scientific satellite which studied the concentration of nitric oxide in the thermosphere. It was launched in 1998 as part of NASA's Explorer program. The satellite was the first of three missions developed within the Student Explorer Demonstration Initiative (STEDI) program funded by the NASA and managed by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA). STEDI was a pilot program to demonstrate that high-quality space science can be carried out with small, low-cost free-flying satellites on a time scale of two years from go-ahead to launch. The satellite was developed by the University of Colorado Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) and had met its goals by the time its mission ended with reentry in December 2003.
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 20, also known Ionosphere Explorer-A, IE-A, S-48, TOPSI and Topside Explorer, was a NASA satellite launched as part of Explorer program. Its purpose was two-fold: long-term investigation of the ionosphere from above, and in situ investigation of ion concentrations and temperatures.
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 31, also called DME-A, was a NASA satellite launched as part of the Explorer program. Explorer 31 was launched on 29 November 1965 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, with a Thor-Agena launch vehicle. Explorer 31 was released along with the Canadian satellite Alouette 2.
Explorer 45 was a NASA satellite launched as part of Explorer program. Explorer 45 was the only one to be released from the program Small Scientific Satellite.
Explorer 51, also known as AE-C, was a NASA scientific satellite belonging to the Atmosphere Explorer series launched on 16 December 1973, at 06:18:00 UTC, from Vandenberg aboard a Delta 1900 launch vehicle.
Explorer 55, also known as AE-E, was a NASA scientific satellite belonging to the Atmosphere Explorer series launched on 20 November 1975 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) aboard a Thor-Delta 2910 launch vehicle.
Dynamics Explorer 1 was a NASA high-altitude mission, launched on 3 August 1981, and terminated on 28 February 1991. It consisted of two satellites, DE-1 and DE-2, whose purpose was to investigate the interactions between plasmas in the magnetosphere and those in the ionosphere. The two satellites were launched together into polar coplanar orbits, which allowed them to simultaneously observe the upper and lower parts of the atmosphere.
Dynamics Explorer 2 was a NASA low-altitude mission, launched on 3 August 1981. It consisted of two satellites, DE-1 and DE-2, whose purpose was to investigate the interactions between plasmas in the magnetosphere and those in the ionosphere. The two satellites were launched together into polar coplanar orbits, which allowed them to simultaneously observe the upper and lower parts of the atmosphere.
Orbiting Vehicle 3-6, launched 5 December 1967, was the sixth and last satellite to be launched in the OV3 series of the United States Air Force's Orbiting Vehicle program. The satellite measured electron density and neutral density ion composition, as functions of latitude and time. The satellite reentered the Earth's atmosphere on 9 March 1969.
