Object Details
Manufacturer
U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency, Redstone Arsenal
Summary
Full-scale replica of the Explorer VII spacecraft. The satellite was launched on October 13, 1959 atop a Juno II vehicle and successfully went into orbit. The spacecraft carried an array of instruments designed to study a broad range of radiation from the sun including X-rays, the intensity of cosmic rays and the field of charged particles in the ionosphere as well as micrometeorite impacts. It provided data from its instruments for 13 months, during the course of which it sent back readings acquired during a major solar flare. The object was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in August 1972 and was restored in 2005.
Alternate Name
Explorer 7 Satellite (Replica)
Credit Line
Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Inventory Number
A19761109000
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed
Materials
Metal shell, solar cells, electronics
Dimensions
Approximate: 2 ft. 6 in. diameter x 2 ft. 6 in. tall, 92 lb. (76.2 x 76.2cm, 41.7kg)
Country of Origin
United States of America
See more items in
National Air and Space Museum Collection
Location
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA
Exhibit Station
Space Science
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nasm_A19761109000