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Hitchhiker 2 
Summary
Hitchhiker 2 (or P-11 4202, P-11 AS and OPS 3316) was a satellite launched by U.S. Air Force. It was launched with the aim of studying and measuring cosmic radiation. The satellite was the second successful satellite of the P-11 program, following the failure of the first Hitchhiker satellite in March 1963. It was launched on October 29, 1963 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on a Thor-Agena launch vehicle.
| Mission type | Technology |
|---|---|
| Operator | USAF |
| COSPAR ID | 1963-042B[1] |
| SATCAT no. | 682 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | P-11 |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin / MIT |
| Launch mass | 60 kilograms (130 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | October 29, 1963, 21:19 UTC[2] |
| Rocket | Thor SLV-2A Agena D 386 |
| Launch site | Vandenberg SLC-1W |
| End of mission | |
| Deactivated | May 23, 1965 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Eccentricity | 0.02201 |
| Perigee altitude | 285 kilometres (177 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 585 kilometres (364 mi) |
| Inclination | 89.9° |
| Period | 93.4 minutes |
| Epoch | October 29, 1963 |
On May 23, 1965, the satellite re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.
Instruments edit
- 1 Geiger tube (40-4 MeV)
- 1 Faraday cup plasma
- 1 Electron detector (0.3-5.0 MeV)
- 1 Proton detector (0.7-5.3 MeV)
- 2 electrostatic analysers (4-100 keV)
