NASA's Explorer 49 (also called Radio Astronomy Explorer-B(RAE-B)) was a 328-kilogram (723 lb) satellite launched on June 10, 1973 for long wave radio astronomy research. It had four 230-metre-long (750 ft) X-shaped antenna elements, which made it one of the largest spacecraft ever built.
Explorer 49 was launched after the termination of the Apollo program, and although it did not examine the Moon directly, it became the last American lunar orbital mission until the launch of Clementine spacecraft in 1994. It was launched on June 10, 1973, 14:13:00 UTC in the Rocket Delta 1913 from the Launch site Cape Canaveral LC-17B.
This mission was the second of a pair of Radio Astronomy Explorer (RAE) satellites, Explorer 38 or RAE-A being the first. Explorer 49 was placed into lunar orbit to provide radio astronomical measurements of the planets, the Sun, and the galaxy over the frequency range of 25 kHz to 13.1 MHz. Since the spacecraft's design used gravity gradient booms, the lumpy lunar gravity field was a problem for the mission scientists.
Explorer 49 was launched after the termination of the Apollo program, and although it did not examine the Moon directly, it became the last American lunar orbital mission until the launch of Clementine spacecraft in 1994. It was launched on June 10, 1973, 14:13:00 UTC in the Rocket Delta 1913 from the Launch site Cape Canaveral LC-17B.
This mission was the second of a pair of Radio Astronomy Explorer (RAE) satellites, Explorer 38 or RAE-A being the first. Explorer 49 was placed into lunar orbit to provide radio astronomical measurements of the planets, the Sun, and the galaxy over the frequency range of 25 kHz to 13.1 MHz. Since the spacecraft's design used gravity gradient booms, the lumpy lunar gravity field was a problem for the mission scientists.
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