Explorer 2 (EXPLR2) was to be a repeat of the Explorer 1 mission. However, due to a failure in the rocket during launch, the spacecraft did not reach orbit.
Explorer 2 was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station LC-26A in Florida on March 5, 1958 at 18:28 UTC, by a Jupiter-C launch vehicle. The Jupiter-C had its origins in the United States Army's Project Orbiter in 1954. The project was canceled in 1955, when the decision was made to proceed with Project Vanguard.
Following the launch of the Soviet Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) was directed to proceed with the launching of a satellite using the Jupiter-C, which had already been flight-tested in nose-cone re-entry tests for the Jupiter IRBM (intermediate-range ballistic missile). Working closely together, ABMA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) completed the job of modifying the Jupiter-C and building Explorer 1 in 84 days.
Read more about Explorer 2: Spacecraft Design, Mission Results
Famous quotes containing the word explorer:
“Well, Philippe, he died because of his work. He was like an—like an explorer in a wild country where no one had ever been before. He was searching for the truth, he almost found a great truth, but for one instant he was careless.”
—James Clavell (b. 1924)