Status
Failure
Ranger 2
Launch Time
Sat Nov 18, 1961 08:12 UTC
Sat Nov 18, 1961 08:12 UTC
Agena failed to restart due to rate gyro malfunction; the spacecraft was left in LEO.
Rocket
Mission Details
Ranger 2
Ranger 2 was a flight test of the Ranger spacecraft system of the NASA Ranger program designed for future lunar and interplanetary missions. Ranger 2 was designed to test various systems for future exploration and to conduct scientific observations of cosmic rays, magnetic fields, radiation, dust particles, and a possible hydrogen gas "tail" trailing the Earth.
Payloads: 1
Total Mass: 304.0 kg
Trans Lunar Injection
Location
LC-12, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA
Stats
1961
44th orbital launch attempt
Atlas-Agena
9th mission
6th mission of 1961
5th failed mission