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{{Short description|Three American satellites launched in 1965}}
[[Image:Pegasus satellite.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Pegasus Satellite]]
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
[[Image:Pegasus deployment.png|thumb|250px|right|Deployment of an Pegasus Satellite]]
{{distinguish|Northrop Grumman Pegasus}}
The '''Pegasus satellite program''' was a series of three [[satellite]]s, which were launched in 1965 to study the frequency of [[micrometeorite]] impacts. All three Pegasus satellites were launched by [[Saturn I]] [[rocket]]s, and remained connected with the upper stage.
{{Infobox spacecraft class
| name =
| image = Pegasus satellite.jpg
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Pegasus satellite, attached to the S-IV upper stage
| manufacturer = [[Fairchild Hiller]]
| designer =
| country = United States
| operator = [[NASA]]
| applications = [[Micrometeoroid]] detection


<!--Specifications-->
It was named for the winged horse of Greek mythology and was first lofted into space by a NASA [[Saturn I]] rocket on February 16, 1965. Like their namesake, the Pegasus satellites were notable for their wings; however, these {{convert|96|ft|m|sing=on}}-long, {{convert|14|ft|m|sing=on}}-wide wings were not for flying. They carried 208 panels to report punctures by potentially hazardous micrometeoroids at high altitudes where the manned [[Project Apollo]] missions would orbit. Spacecraft designers were keenly interested in the information because the Apollo spacecraft and crew were in jeopardy if tiny particles could puncture a spacecraft skin.
| spacecraft_type =
| spacecraft_bus =
| design_life =
| launch_mass = {{convert|1450|kg|lb}}
| dimensions = {{convert|96|ft|m|order=flip|sp=us}} wide by {{convert|13.6|ft|m|order=flip|sp=us}} long
| power = [[Solar cell]]s
| batteries =
| equipment =
| orbits = [[Low Earth orbit]]


<!--Production-->
Micrometeoroid detectors and sample protective shields were mounted on the satellite's wing-like [[solar cell]] arrays. The sensors successfully measured the frequency, size, direction and penetration of scores of micrometeoroid impacts.
| status = retired
'''Fairchild Stratos/Hiller built the sats with much help from lent GE reentry systems personnel under Coleman Raphael. '''''Recently, a test [not flown] Pegasus was rediscovered in an air museum's storage area in the midwestern US.''
| built = 3
The [[NASA]] [[Marshall Space Flight Center]] was responsible for the design, production and operation of the three Pegasus satellites which were launched by Saturn I rocket test flights in 1965. At launch, an [[Apollo Command/Service Module|Apollo command and service module]] [[boilerplate]] and [[launch escape system]] tower were atop the Saturn I, with the Pegasus experiment folded inside the service module. After first stage separation and second-stage ignition, the launch escape system was jettisoned. When the second stage attained orbit, the 10,000-pound Apollo boilerplate command and service modules were jettisoned into a separate orbit. Then a motor driven device extended the winglike panels on the Pegasus to a span of {{convert|96|ft|m}}. The Pegasus wings remained attached to the Saturn I's second stage as planned.
| launched = 3
| operational = February 16, 1965
| retired = August 29, 1968
| failed = 0
| lost =
| first = February 16, 1965
| last = July 30, 1965
| lastretired =


<!--insignia-->
A television camera, mounted on the interior of the service module adapter, provided pictures of the satellite deploying in space and as one historian has written, "captured a vision of the eerie silent wings of Pegasus I as they haltingly deployed." The satellite exposed more than {{convert|2300|sqft|m2}} of instrumented surface, with thickness varying up to 16/1000 of an inch.
| insignia =
| insignia_size =
| insignia_alt =
| insignia_caption =


<!--image at bottom of infobox-->
Ernst Stuhlinger, then director of the MSFC Research Projects Laboratory, noted that all three Pegasus missions provided more than data on micrometeoroid penetration. Scientists also were able to gather data regarding gyroscopic motion and orbital characteristics of rigid bodies in space, lifetimes of electronic components in the space environment, and thermal control systems and the degrading effects of space on thermal control coatings. Space historian Roger Bilstein reported that for physicists the Pegasus missions provided additional knowledge about the radiation environments of space, the [[Van Allen radiation belt]]s and other phenomena.
| bottom_image = Pegasus Deployment sequence.png
| bottom_image_size = 250px
| bottom_image_alt =
| bottom_image_caption = Deployment of a Pegasus Satellite

}}
The '''Pegasus Project''' was a NASA initiative to study the frequency of [[micrometeoroid]] impacts on spacecraft by means of a [[satellite constellation|constellation]] of three [[satellite]]s launched in 1965.<ref name="ROSENTHAL 1965 p. ">{{Cite conference |last=Rosenthal |first=R. |year=1965 |title=The Pegasus Meteoroid Technology Satellite |conference=Unmanned Spacecraft Meeting 1965 |publisher=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |publication-place=Reston, Virginia |doi=10.2514/6.1965-1442}}</ref><ref name="NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)">{{cite web |title = The meteoroid satellite project Pegasus First summary report |website = NASA Technical Reports Server |date = November 1966 |url = https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19670002052 |language = en |access-date = September 25, 2020 |last1 = Johnson |first1 = W. G. }}</ref>
All three Pegasus satellites were launched by [[Saturn I]] [[rocket]]s, and remained connected with their upper stages.

The Pegasus satellites were named for the [[Pegasus|winged horse of Greek mythology]] and was first lofted into space by a NASA [[Saturn I]] rocket on February 16, 1965.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2016-09-19 |title=Pegasus Satellite - NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/history/pegasus-satellite/ |access-date=2024-08-24 |language=en-US}}</ref> Like its namesake, the Pegasus satellite was notable for its "wings", a pair of {{convert|96|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}}, {{convert|14|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} arrays of 104 panels fitted with sensors to detect punctures by micrometeoroids at high altitudes, in support of the [[Apollo Program]] to send crewed lunar landing missions starting by 1970. Micrometeoroids were believed to be potentially hazardous to the Apollo crew if they could puncture the spacecraft skin. The sensors successfully measured the frequency, size, direction and penetration of scores of micrometeoroid impacts. The satellite also carried sample protective shields mounted on the arrays.

The [[NASA]] [[Marshall Space Flight Center]] was responsible for the design, production and operation of the three Pegasus satellites which were launched by Saturn I rocket test flights in 1965. At launch, a [[boilerplate (spaceflight)|boilerplate]] [[Apollo Command/Service Module]] and [[launch escape system]] tower were atop the Saturn I, with the Pegasus experiment folded inside the Service Module. After first stage separation and second-stage ignition, the launch escape system was jettisoned. When the second stage attained orbit, the 10,000-pound Apollo boilerplate Command and Service modules were jettisoned into a separate orbit. Then a motor driven device extended the winglike panels on the Pegasus to a span of {{convert|96|ft|m}}. The Pegasus wings remained attached to the Saturn I's second stage as planned.

A television camera, mounted on the interior of the Service Module adapter, provided pictures of the satellite deploying in space and as historian Roger E. Bilstein has written, "captured a vision of the eerie silent wings of Pegasus I as they haltingly deployed."<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bilstein |first=Roger E. |title=Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicle |publisher=NASA History Office |year=1996 |isbn=9780788181863 |location=Washington, DC}}</ref> The satellite exposed more than {{convert|2300|sqft|m2}} of instrumented surface, with thickness varying up to {{convert|0.016|in|mm|adj=on}}.

Ernst Stuhlinger, then director of the MSFC Research Projects Laboratory, noted that all three Pegasus missions provided more than data on micrometeoroid penetration. Scientists also were able to gather data regarding gyroscopic motion and orbital characteristics of rigid bodies in space, lifetimes of electronic components in the space environment, and thermal control systems and the degrading effects of space on thermal control coatings. Space historian Roger Bilstein reported that for physicists the Pegasus missions provided additional knowledge about the radiation environments of space, the [[Van Allen radiation belt]]s and other phenomena.<ref name=":0" />


== Orbits ==
== Orbits ==
*Pegasus 1
*[[Pegasus 1]]
**Launched: February 16, 1965<ref>{{Citation |last=NASA on The Commons |title=Pegasus Satellite |date=1965-02-16 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/25428837957 |access-date=2024-08-24}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Pegasus 1 |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-009A |access-date=August 24, 2024 |website=National Space Science Data Center}}</ref>
**Launched: 16 February 1965
**Launch vehicle: [[A-103 (SA-9)|A-103]]
**Launch vehicle: [[A-103 (SA-9)|A-103]]
**Orbital inclination: 31.7 degrees.
**Orbital inclination: 31.7 degrees.
**[[Perigee]]: 510 km
**[[Perigee]]: 510&nbsp;km
**Apogee: 726 km
**Apogee: 726&nbsp;km
**Launch weight: 10.5 tons.
**Launch weight: 10.5 tons.<ref name=":1" />
**Dry weight: 1451.5 kg
**Dry weight: 1451.5&nbsp;kg<ref name=":1" />
**Decayed: 17 September 1978
**Decayed: September 17, 1978
**[[International Designator]]: [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1965-009A 1965-009A]
**[[International Designator]]: [https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-009A 1965-009A]
* [[Pegasus 2]]

**Launched: May 25, 1965<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Pegasus satellite |url=http://www.astronautix.com/p/pegasussatellite.html |access-date=2024-08-24 |website=www.astronautix.com}}</ref>
* Pegasus 2
**Launched: 25 May 1965
**Launch vehicle: [[A-104 (SA-8)|A-104]]
**Launch vehicle: [[A-104 (SA-8)|A-104]]
**Orbital inclination: 31.7 degrees.
**Orbital inclination: 31.7 degrees.
**[[Perigee]]: 502 km
**[[Perigee]]: 502&nbsp;km
**Apogee: 740 km
**Apogee: 740&nbsp;km
**Launch weight: 10.46 tons.
**Launch weight: 10.46 tons.
**Dry weight: 1451.5 kg
**Dry weight: 1451.5&nbsp;kg
**Decayed: 03 November 1979
**Decayed: November 3, 1979
**International Designator: [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1965-039A 1965-039A]
**International Designator: [https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-039A 1965-039A]
*[[Pegasus 3]]

**Launched: July 30, 1965<ref name=":2" />
*Pegasus 3
**Launched: 30 July 1965
**Launch vehicle: [[A-105 (SA-10)|A-105]]
**Launch vehicle: [[A-105 (SA-10)|A-105]]
**Orbital inclination: 28.9 degrees.
**Orbital inclination: 28.9 degrees.
**[[Perigee]]: 441 km
**[[Perigee]]: 441&nbsp;km
**Apogee: 449 km
**Apogee: 449&nbsp;km
**Launch weight: 10.5 tons.
**Launch weight: 10.5 tons.
**Dry weight: 1451.5 kg
**Dry weight: 1451.5&nbsp;kg
**Decayed: 4 August 1969
**Decayed: August 4, 1969
**International Designator: [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1965-060A 1965-060A]
**International Designator: [https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-060A 1965-060A]

==References==
{{reflist}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
* [http://www.astronautix.com/craft/pegasus.htm Encyclopedia Astronautica entry]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101120040730/http://astronautix.com/craft/pegasus.htm Encyclopedia Astronautica entry]
* {{Internet Archive film clip
* [http://moosedev.tripod.com/rediscovered_pegasus_satellite_test_vehicle/ REDISCOVERED Pegasus test vehicle]
|id=1965-05-27_Space_Policeman
|description=showing Pegasus 2 liftoff and animation (May 1965)
}}


{{Apollo program}}
[[Category:1965 in space exploration]]
{{Include-NASA}}
[[Category:Artificial satellites formerly orbiting Earth]]


[[Category:1965 in spaceflight]]
[[cs:Program Pegasus]]
[[Category:Satellites formerly orbiting Earth]]
[[de:Pegasus (Satellit)]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched by Saturn rockets]]
[[es:Pegasus (satélite)]]
[[Category:Satellite constellations]]
[[fr:Pegasus (satellite)]]
[[pl:Program Pegasus]]
[[Category:NASA programs]]
[[pt:Satélite Pegasus]]
[[tr:Pegasus uydu programı]]

Latest revision as of 13:16, 24 August 2024

Not to be confused with Northrop Grumman Pegasus.
Pegasus satellite, attached to the S-IV upper stage
ManufacturerFairchild Hiller
Country of originUnited States
OperatorNASA
ApplicationsMicrometeoroid detection
Specifications
Launch mass1,450 kilograms (3,200 lb)
Dimensions29 meters (96 ft) wide by 4.1 meters (13.6 ft) long
PowerSolar cells
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Production
Statusretired
Built3
Launched3
OperationalFebruary 16, 1965
RetiredAugust 29, 1968
Failed0
Maiden launchFebruary 16, 1965
Last launchJuly 30, 1965
Configuration

Deployment of a Pegasus Satellite

The Pegasus Project was a NASA initiative to study the frequency of micrometeoroid impacts on spacecraft by means of a constellation of three satellites launched in 1965.[1][2] All three Pegasus satellites were launched by Saturn I rockets, and remained connected with their upper stages.

The Pegasus satellites were named for the winged horse of Greek mythology and was first lofted into space by a NASA Saturn I rocket on February 16, 1965.[3] Like its namesake, the Pegasus satellite was notable for its "wings", a pair of 96-foot-long (29 m), 14-foot-wide (4.3 m) arrays of 104 panels fitted with sensors to detect punctures by micrometeoroids at high altitudes, in support of the Apollo Program to send crewed lunar landing missions starting by 1970. Micrometeoroids were believed to be potentially hazardous to the Apollo crew if they could puncture the spacecraft skin. The sensors successfully measured the frequency, size, direction and penetration of scores of micrometeoroid impacts. The satellite also carried sample protective shields mounted on the arrays.

The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for the design, production and operation of the three Pegasus satellites which were launched by Saturn I rocket test flights in 1965. At launch, a boilerplate Apollo Command/Service Module and launch escape system tower were atop the Saturn I, with the Pegasus experiment folded inside the Service Module. After first stage separation and second-stage ignition, the launch escape system was jettisoned. When the second stage attained orbit, the 10,000-pound Apollo boilerplate Command and Service modules were jettisoned into a separate orbit. Then a motor driven device extended the winglike panels on the Pegasus to a span of 96 feet (29 m). The Pegasus wings remained attached to the Saturn I's second stage as planned.

A television camera, mounted on the interior of the Service Module adapter, provided pictures of the satellite deploying in space and as historian Roger E. Bilstein has written, "captured a vision of the eerie silent wings of Pegasus I as they haltingly deployed."[3][4] The satellite exposed more than 2,300 square feet (210 m2) of instrumented surface, with thickness varying up to 0.016-inch (0.41 mm).

Ernst Stuhlinger, then director of the MSFC Research Projects Laboratory, noted that all three Pegasus missions provided more than data on micrometeoroid penetration. Scientists also were able to gather data regarding gyroscopic motion and orbital characteristics of rigid bodies in space, lifetimes of electronic components in the space environment, and thermal control systems and the degrading effects of space on thermal control coatings. Space historian Roger Bilstein reported that for physicists the Pegasus missions provided additional knowledge about the radiation environments of space, the Van Allen radiation belts and other phenomena.[3]

Orbits

[edit]
  • Pegasus 1
  • Pegasus 2
    • Launched: May 25, 1965[7]
    • Launch vehicle: A-104
    • Orbital inclination: 31.7 degrees.
    • Perigee: 502 km
    • Apogee: 740 km
    • Launch weight: 10.46 tons.
    • Dry weight: 1451.5 kg
    • Decayed: November 3, 1979
    • International Designator: 1965-039A
  • Pegasus 3
    • Launched: July 30, 1965[7]
    • Launch vehicle: A-105
    • Orbital inclination: 28.9 degrees.
    • Perigee: 441 km
    • Apogee: 449 km
    • Launch weight: 10.5 tons.
    • Dry weight: 1451.5 kg
    • Decayed: August 4, 1969
    • International Designator: 1965-060A

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Rosenthal, R. (1965). The Pegasus Meteoroid Technology Satellite. Unmanned Spacecraft Meeting 1965. Reston, Virginia: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi:10.2514/6.1965-1442.
  2. ^ Johnson, W. G. (November 1966). "The meteoroid satellite project Pegasus First summary report". NASA Technical Reports Server. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Pegasus Satellite - NASA". September 19, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  4. ^ Bilstein, Roger E. (1996). Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicle. Washington, DC: NASA History Office. ISBN 9780788181863.
  5. ^ NASA on The Commons (February 16, 1965), Pegasus Satellite, retrieved August 24, 2024
  6. ^ a b c "Pegasus 1". National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Pegasus satellite". www.astronautix.com. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
[edit]

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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