Status
Success
DAD Explorer A & B
Launch Time
Sat Dec 06, 1975 03:35 UTC
Sat Dec 06, 1975 03:35 UTC
Last flight of Scout F1.
Rocket
Mission Details
DAD Explorer A & B
The DAD A (Dual Air Density Explorer-A) satellite was a 0.76 m rigid sphere designed to determine, in conjunction with DAD B (Dual Air Density Explorer-B), the vertical structure of the upper thermosphere and the lower exosphere as a function of latitude, season, and local solar time. Both satellites would have been launched by a single Scout-F1 launch vehicle into coplanar polar orbits. Measurements of atmospheric density from DAD-A would have been obtained from satellite drag analyses near perigee (approximately 350 km) and from composition measurements taken by an onboard mass spectrometer. DAD-A was equipped with a radio beacon to facilitate tracking.
Payloads: 2
Total Mass: 49.0 kg
Low Earth Orbit
Location
SLC-5, Vandenberg SFB, California, USA
Stats
1975
120th orbital launch attempt
Scout
75th mission
3rd mission of 1975
62nd successful mission
24th consecutive successful mission