Hi all This is what I got on 'inflatables': Name: Explorer-9 Country: USA Launch date: 16 February 1961 Re entry: 9 April 1964 Launch site: Wallops Island Launch vehicle: Scout X 1 Orbit: 634 x 2583 km, inclination: 38.9 degrees The objective of Explorer-9, also known as S-56A, was to determine the density of the Earth's atmosphere by measuring the air drag on the satellite. The satellite itself had a mass of 6.8 kg and consisted of a 3.66 m inflatable mylar polyester sphere with an aluminium coating. Attached to this was a transmitter which broke down during the first orbit. The satellite was tracked optically and by radar and from this data the scientific measurements were made. Name: Explorer-19 Country: USA Launch date: 19 December 1963 Re entry: 10 May 1981 Launch site: Vandenberg Launch vehicle: Scout X 4 Orbit: 590 x 2394 km, inclination: 78.6 degrees The 8 kg satellite was a 3.50 m diameter balloon similar to Explorer-9. It assisted in air density measurements in the polar regions and temperature measurements at various latitudes. The satellite had no instrumentation and was to be tracked. A tracking beacon failed to operate and all tracking was done visually, providing long term atmospheric density data and data on density changes caused by solar disturbances. Name: Explorer-24 Country: USA Launch date: 21 November 1964 Re entry: 18 October 1968 Launch site: Vandenberg Launch vehicle: Scout X 4 Orbit: 525 x 2498 km, inclination: 81.4 degrees The 9 kg Explorer-24 satellite was a 3.65 m diameter balloon with a tracking transmitter used to study the density of the atmosphere. Name: Explorer-39 Country: USA Launch date: 8 August 1968 Re entry: 22 June 1981 Launch site: Vandenberg Launch vehicle: Scout B Orbit: 670 x 2538 km, inclination: 80.7degrees Explorer-39 or the Air Density Explorer (AD E) investigated the density and temperature of the atmosphere at intermediate latitudes. It also measured the particle flux and energy and conducted observations in conjunction with Explorer-40. The satellite was a 3.60 m mylar balloon inflated with nitrogen gas and painted with a polka dot pattern. The balloon was tracked optically and was also fitted with a radio beacon. It had a mass of 9.5 kg. Name: Bluebell Country: USA Launch date: 15 February 1966 Re entry: 16 February 1966 Launch site: Vandenberg Launch vehicle: Atlas Agena D Orbit: 115 x 253 km, inclination: 96.5 degrees The first Bluebell payload was a 2.44 m long and 0.30 m diameter inflatable cylinder with a mass of 8.7 kg. The satellite was tracked to determine the atmospheric density encountered in the orbit. Also known as Ops-3011. Name: Bluebell Country: USA Launch date: 15 February 1966 Re entry: 22 February 1966 Launch site: Vandenberg Launch vehicle: Atlas Agena D Orbit: 149 x 267 km, inclination: 96.5 degrees The second Bluebell payload was a 0.30 m diameter inflatable sphere with a mass of 4.1 kg. The satellite was tracked to determine the atmospheric density encountered in the orbit. Also known as Ops-3031. Name: Pageos Country: USA Launch date: 23 June 1966 Re entry: ? Launch site: Vandenberg Launch vehicle: TAT Agena D Orbit: 4207 x 4271 km, inclination: 87.1 degrees The 57 kg Passive Geodetic Satellite (Pageos) consisted of a 30 m diameter balloon of aluminised sun reflecting material which was photographed against a cloudless night sky in geodetic experiments. The satellite carried no instruments and the balloon has since disintegrated. Name: Mylar Balloon Country: USA Launch date: 7 August 1971 Re entry: 11 June 1972 Launch site: Vandenberg Launch vehicle: Atlas F Orbit: 777 x 914 km, inclination: 87.6 degrees Mylar Balloon was a 2.13 m balloon ejected by OV1 21 (1971 067B) and was also known as AVL 802. It had a mass of 0.8 kg and was used in aerodynamic studies to measure the ballistic coefficient of spheres and the change in this coefficient with the changing altitude. Name: Echo-1 Country: USA Launch date: 12 August 1960 Re entry: 24 May 1968 Launch site: Cape Canaveral Launch vehicle: Delta DM19 Orbit: 1524 x 1684 km, inclination: 47.2 degrees Echo-1 was a 75.9 kg, 25 m diameter sphere made of 82 tapered segments of mylar polyester film coated with a layer of aluminum. The sphere, once deployed in orbit, provided a passive communications means by bouncing radiowaves of the reflective surface. After initial taped messages from Goldstone (California) to Holmdel (New Jersey), the first two way communication took place on 13 August 1960 between Cedar Rapids (Iowa) and Richardson (Texas). Also the first pictures were transmitted between the same stations on 19 August 1960. Name: Echo-2 Country: USA Launch date: 25 January 1964 Re entry: 7 June 1969 Launch site: Vandenberg Launch vehicle: Thor Agena B Orbit: 1029 x 1316 km, inclination: 81.5 degrees The 248 kg Echo 2 was a passive communications satellite consisting of a 46 m diameter reflective mylar balloon. The satellite was used for joint experimental communications with the USSR proving that the use of passive satellites was unsuitable for communications due to the lack of amplification and the uncontrollable drift of the satellite. The upper stage of the launch vehicle carried a television camera which recorded the deployment of the balloon. This excludes launch failures and sub-orbitals. Jos Heyman ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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