NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1964-076A
Explorer 24 (Air Density experiment B, or AD-B) was placed in orbit together with Explorer 25 from a single launch vehicle. This was NASA's first dual-satellite launch. Explorer 24 was identical in configuration to the previously launched balloon satellites Explorer 9 and 19. The spacecraft was 3.6 m in diameter, was built of alternating layers of aluminum foil and plastic film, and was covered uniformly with 5.1-cm white dots for thermal control. It was designed to yield atmospheric density near perigee as a function of space and time from sequential observations of the sphere's position in orbit. To facilitate ground tracking, the satellite carried a 136-MHz tracking beacon. The satellite reentered the Earth's atmosphere on October 18, 1968.
Launch Date: 1964-11-21
Launch Vehicle: Scout
Launch Site: Vandenberg AFB, United States
Mass: 8.6 kg
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Dr. Robert F. Fellows | Project Scientist | NASA Headquarters | |
Mr. Claude W. Coffee, Jr. | Project Manager | NASA Langley Research Center | |
Dr. Gerald M. Keating | General Contact | NASA Langley Research Center |