AE

Other Designations: Atmosphere Explorer. Class: Earth. Type: Atmosphere. Nation: USA. Agency: NASA.

Atmospheric research.

Typical orbit: 199 x 2948 km, 60 deg inclinaton. Associated Launch Vehicle: Delta 1000, Delta 2000, Delta B, Delta C.

AE Chronology

1963 April 3 - Explorer 17 - Program: Explorer. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Delta B. Mass: 185 kg (407 lb). Perigee: 254 km (157 mi). Apogee: 891 km (553 mi). Inclination: 57.60 deg. Period: 96.10 min.
Atmospheric research. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B).

1966 May 25 - Explorer 32 - Program: Explorer. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Delta C. Mass: 225 kg (496 lb). Perigee: 282 km (175 mi). Apogee: 2,723 km (1,691 mi). Inclination: 64.60 deg. Period: 116.00 min.
Atmospheric Explorer; aeronomy experiments. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B).

1973 December 16 - Explorer 51 - Program: Explorer. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Vehicle: Delta 1000. Mass: 658 kg (1,450 lb). Perigee: 155 km (96 mi). Apogee: 4,306 km (2,675 mi). Inclination: 68.10 deg. Period: 132.50 min.
Atmospheric Explorer; upper atmospheric research. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B).

1975 November 20 - Explorer 55 - Program: Explorer. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Delta 2000. Mass: 721 kg (1,589 lb). Perigee: 154 km (95 mi). Apogee: 3,002 km (1,865 mi). Inclination: 19.70 deg. Period: 117.70 min.
Atmospheric Explorer. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B).

1975 October 6 - Explorer 54 - Program: Explorer. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Vehicle: Delta 2000. Mass: 676 kg (1,490 lb). Perigee: 151 km (93 mi). Apogee: 3,819 km (2,373 mi). Inclination: 90.10 deg. Period: 126.80 min.
Atmospheric Explorer; atmospheric research. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B).

Bibliography and Further Reading

USAF Satellite Database, USAF Institute of Technology, 1995. Accessed at: ftp://archive.afit.af.mil/pub/space/.

NASA Report, The Atmosphere Explorer-B Solar Array(Ae-B), . Accessed at: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660007964_1966007964.pdf. -right click to download pdfs!

NASA Report, Detailed Behavior of The Midlatitude Ionosphere From The Explorer Xvii Staellite, . Accessed at: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660086631_1966086631.pdf. -right click to download pdfs!

McDowell, Jonathan, Launch Log, October 1998. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited since Sputnik. Accessed at: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/log/launch.html.

JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Accessed at: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.

Krebs, Gunter, Gunter's Space Page, University of Frankfurt, 1996. Accessed at: http://www.skyrocket.de/space.

McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page, Harvard University, 1997-present. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited and over 20,000 rocket launches Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.

NASA Report, Lightweight battery containers for Explorer XVII /1963 9A/, the atmospheric structure satellite, . Accessed at: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670009371_1967009371.pdf. -right click to download pdfs!

Contact us with any corrections, additions, or comments.

Conditions for use of drawings, pictures, or other materials from this site..
To contact astronauts or cosmonauts.

© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2007 except where otherwise noted.

Encyclopedia Astronautica
topic index
0 - A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - Ra - Re - Sa - Sf - Sp - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z