Pioneer 1
| Mission type | Lunar orbiter |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| Harvard designation | 1958 Eta 1 |
| COSPAR ID | 1958-007A |
| SATCAT no. | 110 |
| Mission duration | 1 day, 19 hours and 4 minutes |
| Apogee | 113,800 kilometers (70,700 mi) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Space Technology Laboratories |
| Launch mass | 34.2 kilograms (75 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 11 October 1958, 08:42:00 GMT |
| Rocket | Thor DM-18 Able I |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, LC-17A |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 13 October 1958, 03:46 GMT |
Pioneer 1 (also known as Able 2) was an American space probe, the first under the auspices of NASA, which was launched by a Thor-Able rocket on 11 October 1958. It was intended to orbit the Moon and make scientific measurements, but due to a guidance error failed to achieve lunar orbit and was ultimately destroyed upon reentering Earth's atmosphere. The flight, which lasted 43 hours and reached an apogee of 113,800 km (70,700 miles), was the second and most successful of the three Thor-Able space probes.