Pioneer P-1

Pioneer P-1 was a failed mission in the Pioneer program. The spacecraft was a 1-meter diameter sphere with a propulsion module, and was to carry a TV camera and magnetic field sensor. It was to be spin-stabilized and was known as a 'paddlewheel' spacecraft.

Pioneer P-1

The Pioneer P-1 lunar probe
Mission type	Lunar orbiter
Operator	NASA
Mission duration	Failed to launch
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	TRW Space Technology Laboratories
Launch mass	168 kg (370 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	24 September 1959 (1959-09-24) (pre-launch failure)
Rocket	Atlas C-Able #9C
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, LC-12
Pioneer ← Pioneer 4 Pioneer P-3 →

The spacecraft was intended for launch on an Atlas C-Able rocket, but this vehicle was destroyed on 24 September 1959 in an explosion on its launch pad during a pre-launch static firing. The P-1 spacecraft and an Able IV space engine were not present on the launch vehicle when it exploded, and were later used on the Pioneer P-3 mission.^[1][2]

The only specimen of the Atlas C-Able rocket, intended to carry Pioneer P-1, prior to an explosion during static firing.

References

1. "Pioneer P-1, P-3, P-30, P-31". Gunter's Space Page. 12 November 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
2. "U.S. Moon Rocket Blows Up in Test". The New York Times. 25 September 1959.

External links

• Atlas-C Able at Encyclopedia Astronautica
• Able IV information website
• Space Technology Laboratories Documents Archive