Success
Ranger 3
Lunar Exploration
United States Air Force(USAF)Government
Atlas LV-3 Agena B
Helio-N/Aorbit
Ranger 3 was a spacecraft designed to transmit pictures of the lunar surface during the last 10 minutes prior to impacting the Moon. A malfunction in the booster guidance system resulted in excessive spacecraft speed. Ranger 3 missed the Moon by 36,800 km and is now in a heliocentric orbit.
Friday, January 26, 1962 at 8:30 PM
Mission details
Orbital Attempt
#145
USAF Mission
#74
Pad Launch
#5
Location Launch
#74
Designator
1962-001
Launch Window
NET
Jan 26, 1962, 8:30 PM
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
Jan 26, 1962, 3:30 PM
Total Launches
1,109
Total Landings
75
Coordinates
28.4889, -80.5778
Atlas LV-3 Agena B Specs
The Atlas LV-3A was a largely unsuccessful configuration until it was given an Agena B upper stage. It was responsible for the launch of Mariner II to Venus and had one of the first engines that could be restarted in orbit.
Length
20.27 m
Diameter
3.05 m
Launch Mass
130 t
Thrust
363 kN
Launch Cost
$14M
Reusable
No
Maiden Flight
1961
Fastest Turnaround
2d 22h
Total Launches
29
Successful
21
Failed
8
Consecutive Success
6
Maiden flight: Jan 31, 1961
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