Pioneer 2
Pioneer 2 (Able 3) — the last of the three Able Moon probes (8 November 1958). Its third stage never fired — later traced to a broken wire — so it reached barely 1,530 km and re-entered 42 minutes after launch, returning only a hint that radiation is stronger near the equator.
Key facts
Mission & specifications
Mission
- Operator
- NASA / US Air Force
- Launched
- November 8, 1958
- Status
- Lost
Trajectory
- Distance from the Sun
- 1.01 AU
- Distance from Earth
- 18,738 km
- Distance from Venus
- 0.601 AU
Mission
Pioneer 2 was the last of the three Able Moon probes, and the least fortunate. Launched on 8 November 1958, it needed all three of its stages to fire in sequence to have any hope of reaching the Moon. The first two performed, but the third stage separated and then failed to ignite — later traced to a single broken wire — and the spin needed to stabilise it never came. Without that final push the probe could not even reach orbit; it climbed to barely 1,530 kilometres and fell back, re-entering just forty-two minutes after launch over equatorial Africa. In its brief arc it returned only a hint that radiation is more intense near the equator. Its lunar mission was over almost before it began — a stark reminder of how unforgiving the first years of spaceflight were.
- 1958The last Able Moon probeLaunch
The third of the early Thor-Able lunar attempts lifts off from Cape Canaveral.
- 1958Third stage failsMission end
A broken wire stops the third stage from firing; it reaches only ~1,530 km and re-enters 42 minutes after launch.
Images
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