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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. 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. 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. 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 October 6 - Explorer 54 - Program: Explorer. Launch Site: Vandenberg. Launch Vehicle: Delta. 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).

1975 November 20 - Explorer 55 - Program: Explorer. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Delta. 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).

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, Detailed Behavior of The Midlatitude Ionosphere From The Explorer Xvii Staellite, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660086631_1966086631.pdf.
NASA Report, The Atmosphere Explorer-B Solar Array(Ae-B), Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660007964_1966007964.pdf.
NASA Report, Lightweight battery containers for Explorer XVII /1963 9A/, the atmospheric structure satellite, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670009371_1967009371.pdf.

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