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- Explorer 17 was a spin-stabilized sphere 0.95 m in diameter. The spacecraft was vacuum sealed in order to prevent contamination of the local atmosphere. Explorer 17 carried four pressure gauges for the measurement of total neutral particle density, two mass spectrometers for the measurement of certain neutral particle concentrations, and two electrostatic probes for ion concentration and electron temperature measurements. Battery power failed on July 10, 1963. Three of the four pressure gauges and both electrostatic probes operated normally. One spectrometer malfunctioned, and the other operated intermittently. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1963-009A Group: Platform_Details Entry_ID: AE-A Group: Platform_Identification Platform_Category: Earth Observation Satellites Platform_Series_or_Entity: AE (Atmosphere Explorer) Short_Name: AE-A Long_Name: Atmosphere Explorer A (Explorer 17) End_Group Group: Synonymous_Platform_Names Short_Name: Explorer 17 Short_Name: S 6 Short_Name: 00564 End_Group Group: Platform_Associated_Instruments Short_Name: SPECTROMETERS End_Group Group: Orbit Orbit_Inclination: 57.6 degrees Perigee: 255 km Apogee: 916 km End_Group Creation_Date: 2007-08-22 Online_Resource: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1963-009A Group: Platform_Logistics Launch_Date: 1963-04-03 Primary_Sponsor: NASA End_Group End_Group
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