Launch Failure
Liftoff Time (GMT)
08:12:00
Saturday November 18, 1961
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Agena failed to restart due to rate gyro malfunction; the spacecraft was left in LEO.
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.
Trans Lunar Injection
1 Payload
304 kilograms
9th
Mission
6th
Mission of 1961
44th
Orbital launch attempt