NSSDCA ID: 1962-059A-02
Mission Name: Explorer 15The UCSD Particle Experiment consisted of two plastic scintillator detectors. There was a two-level pulse-height discriminator associated with each detector. One detector was oriented perpendicular to the spacecraft spin axis and had a 16-deg full-angle aperture. Counting rates from the two discrimination levels of this detector yielded information on directional fluxes of electrons with energies above 0.5 MeV. The second detector was omnidirectional, and it separately measured fluxes of protons with energies from 40 MeV to 110 MeV and of electrons with energies above about 4 MeV. Counts in each of the four discrimination states were accumulated for 9.3 s once each 69-s telemetry sequence. In connection with the directional fluxes, it is significant that 9.3 s is about 11.3 times the spacecraft spin period. The detectors functioned normally from October 27, 1962, until January 30, 1963, after which no further data were obtained.
Questions and comments about this experiment can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
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Prof. Carl E. McIlwain | Principal Investigator | University of California, San Diego | cmcilwain@ucsd.edu |