Explorer 16

Explorer 16

Mission type	Space physics
Operator	NASA
Harvard designation	1962 Beta Chi 1
COSPAR ID	1962-070A
SATCAT no.	506
Mission duration	7 months
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass	100.8 kg (222 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	16 December 1962, 14:38 (1962-12-16UTC14:38) UTC
Rocket	Scout X-3
Launch site	Wallops LA-3
End of mission
Last contact	July 1963
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Eccentricity	0.02933
Perigee altitude	750 km (470 mi)
Apogee altitude	1,181 km (734 mi)
Inclination	52°
Period	104.3 minutes
Epoch	16 December 1962
Instruments
Instruments Pressurized Cell Micrometeorite Detector Grid Detectors of Micrometeorites Copper Wire Micrometeorite Detector Micrometeorite Detector Cadmium-Sulfide Cell Micrometeorite Detector
Explorers

Explorer 16, also called S-55B, was an American satellite launched as part of Explorers program. Explorer 16 as launched on December 19, 1962, on Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, United States, with a Scout rocket.

Mission

Explorer 16 was the second in the series of micrometeoroid satellites orbited by NASA. Its purpose was to obtain data on the near-earth meteoroid environment, thus providing an accurate estimate of the probability of penetration in spacecraft structures by meteoroids and allowing a more confident definition of the relationship between penetration flux and material thickness to be derived.

The cylindrically shaped spacecraft, about 61 by 192 centimetres (24 in × 76 in), was built around the burned-out fourth stage of the Scout launch vehicle that remained as part of the orbiting satellite. Explorer 16 carried stainless steel pressurized-cell penetration detectors, impact detectors, capacitor detectors, and cadmium sulfide cell detectors to obtain data on the size, number, distribution, and momentum of dust particles in the near-earth environment. The spacecraft operated satisfactorily during its 7-month life (December 16, 1962, to July 1963), and all mission objectives were accomplished.