Failure
P-3
Lunar Exploration
United States Air Force(USAF)Government
Atlas-Able
LOorbit
The Pioneer P-1, -3, -30 and -31 series was intended to be a lunar orbiter probe, but the mission failed shortly after launch. The objectives were to place a highly instrumented probe in lunar orbit, to investigate the environment between the Earth and Moon, and to develop technology for controlling and maneuvering spacecraft from Earth.
Thursday, November 26, 1959 at 7:26 AM
Mission details
Orbital Attempt
#54
USAF Mission
#11
Pad Launch
#2
Location Launch
#30
Launch Window
NET
Nov 26, 1959, 7:26 AM
Schedule Changes
1 update
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.
Timezone
America/New_York
Local Launch Time
Nov 26, 1959, 2:26 AM
Total Launches
1,109
Total Landings
75
Coordinates
28.4889, -80.5778
Atlas-Able Specs
The Atlas-Able was an American expendable launch system derived from the SM-65 Atlas missile. It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets, and was used to launch several Pioneer spacecraft towards the Moon. Of the five Atlas-Able rockets built, two failed during static firings, and the other three failed to reach orbit.
Length
35 m
Diameter
3.05 m
Launch Mass
120 t
Thrust
1,587 kN
GTO Capacity
250 kg
Reusable
No
Maiden Flight
1959
Fastest Turnaround
2mo 20d
Total Launches
3
Successful
0
Failed
3
Consecutive Success
0
Maiden flight: Nov 26, 1959
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947.
Founded
1947
Administrator
Commander-in-Chief: President of the US
Total Launches
1,078
Successful
972
Failed
106
Pending
0
Consecutive Success
68