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United States Air ForceLaunch SuccessfulRobotic ExplorationDelta 7425-9.5
Launched 1998-12-11 18:45:52 UTCSpace Launch Complex 17A, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Success
Reached Heliocentric N/A
Worldwide
78th
orbital launch attempt in 1998
United States Air Force
16th
launch this year
Space Launch Complex 17A
5th
launch from this pad this year
Pad turnaround
48 d 6 h
since the pad's previous launch
The Mars Surveyor '98 program is comprised of two spacecraft launched separately, the MCO (Mars Climate Orbiter, formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter) and the MPL (Mars Polar Lander, formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander). The two missions were to study the Martian weather, climate, and water and carbon dioxide budget, in order to understand the reservoirs, behavior, and atmospheric role of volatiles and to search for evidence of long-term and episodic climate changes. The Mars Climate Orbiter was destroyed when a navigation error caused it to miss its target altitude at Mars by 80 to 90 km, instead entering the Martian atmosphere at an altitude of 57 km during the orbit insertion maneuver.
Launch Provider
Government · United States of America · Founded 1947 · Commander-in-Chief President of the US
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.
Launches
1,078
Successful
972
90%
Upcoming
0
scheduled
Height
39m
Diameter
2.4m
Liftoff thrust
3,020kN
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