Ranger 1

Launch data: Designation 00173 / 1961 Phi1 / 61021A Launch date  23 Aug. 1961 - 10:04 UT Launch site  CC, LC12 Launch vehicle  Atlas-LV3 Agena-B (#111D/AA1) Mission  Lunar observer       Payload code  NASA P-32 (RA-1) Earth orbit Perigee x Apogee 179 x 446 km Inclination  32.9 deg Period  days

Technicians work on a Ranger Block 1 spacecraft (used for Rangers 1 and 2). - Credit: NASA.

Specifications: Prime contractor  JPL Operator  NASA Mass at launch  306 kg Dry Mass   kg Dimension  dia -  long Basic shape   Solar array   Stabilization   DC power

Decay: Descent date: 30 Aug 1961 Lifetime:  6.89 days

Mission details:

• Atlas booster 111-D, to be used for Ranger I, was erected on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral on May 29, 1961.
• Lunar probe; failed to leave Earth orbit. Ranger 1 primary mission was to test the performance of those functions and parts that are necessary for carrying out subsequent lunar and planetary missions using essentially the same spacecraft design.
• Intended to test the power, orientation and control systems of the basic spacecraft in an orbit ranging between 1,106,000 and 60,700 km.
• After being placed in an initial orbit of 446 x 179 km, the AGENA second stage should have fired again for 90 sec., but cut off almost immediately. Some time later the spacecraft separated from the AGENA to carry out some of the mission, but the regular disappearance of the sun on each orbit disrupted the sensor lock-on, so the spacecraft spun erratically until its thrusters ran out of fuel. It re-entered after 6.89 days and completed 111 orbits of the earth.