Explorer 17

Launch Successful

Launch Details

Date: 3 Apr 1963, 02:00 am UTC

Rocket: Thor Delta B (Thor)

Provider: United States Air Force

Mission

Type: Earth Science

Orbit: Low Earth Orbit

Pad: Space Launch Complex 17A, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Mission Description

Explorer 17 carried four pressure gauges for the measurement of total neutral particle density, two mass spectrometers for the measurement of certain neutral particle concentrations, and two electrostatic probes for ion concentration and electron temperature measurements.