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Class: Earth. Type: Atmosphere. Nation: USA. Agency: NASA.

12 foot diameter. balloon; identical to Explorer 9; atmospheric density studies.

Typical orbit: 599 km x 2476 km at 80 degrees inclination. Mass: 8.00 kg (17.60 lb).

ADE Chronology

1963 December 19 - Explorer 19 - Program: Explorer. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC5. Launch Vehicle: Scout. Mass: 7.00 kg (15.40 lb). Perigee: 597 km (370 mi). Apogee: 2,391 km (1,485 mi). Inclination: 78.60 deg. Period: 115.90 min.
12 foot dia. balloon; identical to Explorer 9; atmospheric density studies. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B).

1964 November 21 - Explorer 24 - Program: Explorer. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC5. Launch Vehicle: Scout. Mass: 9.00 kg (19.80 lb). Perigee: 530 km (320 mi). Apogee: 2,498 km (1,552 mi). Inclination: 81.40 deg. Period: 116.30 min.
12 foot dia. balloon; atmospheric density studies. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B).

1968 August 8 - Explorer 39 - Program: Explorer. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Complex: SLC5. Launch Vehicle: Scout. Mass: 9.00 kg (19.80 lb). Perigee: 670 km (410 mi). Apogee: 2,538 km (1,577 mi). Inclination: 80.70 deg. Period: 118.30 min.
Air Density Explorer; atmospheric density and temperature data. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B).

Bibliography:

McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page (launch records), Harvard University, 1997-present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Web Address when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.
McDowell, Jonathan, Launch Log, October 1998. Web Address when accessed: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/log/launch.html.
NASA Report, Comparison of ground tests and orbital launch results for the explorer ix and explorer xix satellites, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19640018319_1964018319.pdf.
NASA Report, Determination of mean atmospheric densities during minimum solar activity by means of the Explorer XIX Satellite, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660017768_1966017768.pdf.

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