Space Exploration

Mars 1M Mars 1M spacecraft Mars 1M was a series of two unmanned spacecraft which were used in the first Soviet missions to explore Mars. They were the earliest missions of the Mars program. The Western media dubbed the spacecraft "Marsnik", a portmanteau of Mars and Sputnik. Spacecraft Mars 1M No.1 , known in the west as Marsnik 1, Mars 1960A and Korabl 4, was destroyed in a launch failure on October 10, 1960. In 1962, NASA Administrator James E. Webb informed the United States Congress that NASA believed the mission was an attempt at a Mars flyby probe. Some Soviet scientists involved with the program at that time claim no knowledge of this mission, stating that only the second launch was an intended Mars mission. However, V. G. Perminov, the leading designer of planetary spacecraft at the Lavochkin design bureau, states that this mission was indeed intended for Mars and was identical to the later mission. Mars 1M No.2 , known in the west as Marsni...

Pioneer 5 Pioneer 5  mounted to its  Thor Able  launcher. Mission type Interplanetary space research Operator NASA Harvard designation 1960 Alpha 1 COSPAR ID 1960-001A SATCAT  no. 27 Spacecraft properties Manufacturer TRW Launch mass 43 kilograms (95 lb) Start of mission Launch date March 11, 1960, 13:00:07 UTC Rocket Thor DM-18 Able IV Launch site Cape Canaveral LC-17A End of mission Last contact April 30, 1960 Orbital parameters Reference system Heliocentric Eccentricity 0.1689 Perihelion 0.7061 astronomical units (105,630,000 km; 65,640,000 mi) Aphelion 0.9931 astronomical units (148,570,000 km; 92,310,000 mi) Inclination 3.35 degrees Period 311.6 days Pioneer 5 (also known as Pioneer P-2, and Thor Able 4, and nicknamed the "Paddle-Wheel Satellite") was a spin-stabilized space probe in the NASA Pioneer program used to investigate interplanetary space between the orbits of Earth...

JULY 20 Space X SpaceX's Falcon Heavy happens to be currently the most powerful rocket operational in the world. After a successful test run back in February, SpaceX had announced its intentions for carrying much heavier payloads than it is used to. As such, SpaceX has secured its very first contract for the Falcon Heavy and it is from the US Air Force. The Falcon Heavy can carry nearly twice as much payload as compared to the next most powerful rocket which is the Delta IV operated by the United Launch Alliance (ULA). More importantly, the Falcon Heavy can achieve this at a fraction of the cost charged by ULA. This new contract will put in near $130 million in SpaceX's pocket, however, as it happens the mission will not take place before September 2020. The launch, in question, is to put Air Force Space Command-52 satellite [into] its intended orbit." As per the US Department of Defence's contract, it had received "two proposal...

On February 13, 2019, an Israeli-built unmanned spacecraft is expected to land on the moon The probe will be launched sometime in December from Cape Canaveral aboard a  SpaceX   Falcon 9 rocket, officials said during the media event, held at an Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) space technology site in Yehud. It is scheduled to land on February 13, 2019. “We will put the Israeli flag on the moon,” said Ido Anteby, CEO of SpaceIL . “As soon as the spacecraft reaches the landing point it will be completely autonomous,” Anteby said. “The motor will brake the craft and it will reach the ground at zero speed for a soft landing.” “In the first stage the Israeli flag will be put on the moon,” he said. “During the landing the craft will photograph the landing area with stills and video and even record itself.” SpaceIL’s vehicle is just two meters in diameter and 1.5 meters tall standing on its four legs. It weighs 600 kilograms, making it the smallest craft to touchdown on the moon....

7 August 1959 Explorer 6 Mission type Earth science Operator NASA Harvard designation 1959 Delta 1 COSPAR ID 1959-004A SATCAT  no. 15 Mission duration 60 days Spacecraft properties Manufacturer Jet Propulsion Laboratory TRW Launch mass 64.4 kilograms (142 lb) Start of mission Launch date August 7, 1959, 14:24:20 UTC Rocket Thor DM-18 Able III Launch site Cape Canaveral  LC-17A End of mission Last contact October 6, 1959 Decay date July 1, 1961 Orbital parameters Reference system Geocentric Regime Highly elliptical Semi-major axis 7,870.7 kilometers (4,890.6 mi) Eccentricity 0.7588469982147217 Perigee 237 kilometers (147 mi) Apogee 41,900 kilometers (26,000 mi) Inclination 47.0 degress Period 754 minutes RAAN 49.68 degrees Argument of perigee 47.26 degrees Mean anomaly 341.89 degrees Mean motion 1.89 Epoch 29 September 1959 15:00:37 UTC Revolution  no. 100 Explorer...