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| Organization | NASA |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Magnetospheric research |
| Satellite of | Earth |
| Launch date | July 1, 1966 |
| Launch vehicle | Delta E |
| Mission duration | July 1, 1966 – September 21, 1971 |
| COSPAR ID | 1966-058A |
| Mass | 104 kg |
Explorer 33 (also known as IMP-D) was a spacecraft launched by NASA on July 1, 1966 on a mission of scientific exploration. Originally intended for a lunar orbit, mission controllers worried that the spacecraft's trajectory was too fast to guarantee lunar capture.[1] Consequently, mission managers opted for a backup plan of placing the craft into an eccentric Earth orbit with a perigee of 265,679 km and an apogee of 480,762 km — still reaching distances beyond the Moon's orbit.[2]
Despite not attaining the intended lunar orbit, the mission met many of its original goals in exploring solar wind, interplanetary plasma, and solar X-rays.[3] Principal investigator James Van Allen used electron and proton detectors aboard the spacecraft to investigate charged particle and X-ray activity.[4] Astrophysicists N. U. Crooker, Joan Feynman, and J. T. Gosling used data from Explorer 33 to establish relationships between the Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind speed near Earth.[5]
References
- ^ J. J. Madden (December 1966). "Interim Flight Report, Anchored Interplanetary Monitoring Platform, AIMP I - Explorer XXXIII". NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670009370_1967009370.pdf.
- ^ "IMP Chronology". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/craft/imp.htm.
- ^ "Explorer 33 (NSSDC ID: 1966-058A)". NASA / National Space Science Data Center. 2008-04-02. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/masterCatalog.do?sc=1966-058A. Retrieved on 2008-07-04.
- ^ "Explorer 33 – Electron and Proton Detectors". NASA / National Space Science Data Center. 2008-04-02. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/experimentDisplay.do?id=1966-058A-05. Retrieved on 2008-07-04.
- ^ Crooker, N. U.; Feynman, J.; Gosling, J. T. (1977-05-01). "On the high correlation between long-term averages of solar wind speed and geomagnetic activity". NASA. http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=238288&id=9&qs=Ne%3D20%26N%3D4294924156%26Ns%3DPublicationYear%257C0. Retrieved on 2008-07-04.
External links
- AIMP-D Technical Summary Description
- Second Interim Flight Report - AIMP-I - Explorer XXXIII
- Observations of the earth's magnetic tail and neutral sheet at 510,000 km by Explorer 33 - 1966
- Observations of the earth's magnetic tail and neutral sheet at 510,000 km by Explorer 33 - 1967
- Mapping of the earth's bow shock and magnetic tail by Explorer 33
- Energetic particles in the outer magnetosphere - Explorer 33
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