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United States Air ForceLaunch SuccessfulEarth ScienceThor Able III
Launched 1959-08-07 14:24:20 UTCSpace Launch Complex 17A, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Success
Reached Elliptical Orbit
Worldwide
12th
orbital launch attempt in 1959
United States Air Force
5th
launch this year
Space Launch Complex 17A
1st
launch from this pad this year
Pad turnaround
272 d 6 h
since the pad's previous launch
Explorer 6 was an American satellite designed to study trapped radiation of various energies, galactic cosmic rays, geomagnetism, radio propagation and the flux of micrometeorites. It also tested a scanning device designed for photographing the Earth's cloud cover, and transmitted the first pictures of Earth from a satellite.
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
27.4m
Diameter
2.4m
Liftoff thrust
668kN
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