Pioneer 0
The lunar orbiter Pioneer 0. | |
| Mission type | Lunar orbiter |
|---|---|
| Operator | Air Force Ballistic Missile Division |
| COSPAR ID | ABLE1 |
| Mission duration | 73.6 seconds Failed to orbit |
| Apogee | 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Space Technology Laboratories |
| Launch mass | 83.8 pounds (38.0 kg) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 17 August 1958, 12:18 GMT |
| Rocket | Thor DM-18 Able-I (Thor # 127) |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, LC-17A |
| Instruments | |
| Television camera, magnetometer, micrometeoroid impact detector | |
Project Able-1 Probes (USAF) | |
| Instruments | |
|---|---|
| TV camera : | Photograph the Moon |
| Magnetometer : | Interplanetary magnetic field |
| Micrometeoroid detectors : | Micrometeoroids |
Pioneer 0 (also known as Able 1) was a failed United States space probe that was designed to go into orbit around the Moon, carrying a television camera, a micrometeorite detector and a magnetometer. It was part of the first International Geophysical Year (IGY) science payload. It was designed and operated by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division as the first spacecraft in the Pioneer program and was the first attempted launch beyond Earth orbit by any country, but the rocket failed shortly after launch. The probe was intended to be called Pioneer (or Pioneer 1), but the launch failure precluded that name.