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National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationLaunch SuccessfulEarth ScienceScout X-3
Launched 1962-12-16 14:33:04 UTCLaunch Area 3, Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Success
Reached Low Earth Orbit
Worldwide
79th
orbital launch attempt in 1962
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
9th
launch this year
Launch Area 3
3rd
launch from this pad this year
Pad turnaround
106 d 22 h
since the pad's previous launch
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.
Launch Provider
Government · United States of America · Founded 1958 · Administrator Jared Isaacman
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Launches
142
Successful
122
86%
Upcoming
5
scheduled
Height
24m
Diameter
1m
To low Earth orbit
87kg
Liftoff thrust
513kN
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