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This is a payload model for the Explorer S-46 satellite, based upon a fully instrumented developmental model in the collection provided by the University of Iowa. The satellite would have carried instrumentation designed to study the electron and proton fluxes in the Earth's Van Allen Radiation belts over an extended period of time. After launch from Cape Canaveral on March 23, 1960, the upper stage of the Juno 2 vehicle did not ignite, and so the payload never achieved orbit. It was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in May 1974.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed Manufacturer Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
 Dimensions Overall: 1 ft. 1 in. × 1 ft. 1 in. × 2 ft. 2 in., 35lb. (33 × 33 × 66cm, 15.9kg)
Approximate: 42.5 × 45.7 × 73.7cm (1 ft. 4 3/4 in. × 1 ft. 6 in. × 2 ft. 5 in.)
 Materials HAZMAT: Cadmium
Magnesium
Ferrous Alloy
Plastics
Paint
Coating
Solar Cells
 Inventory Number A19740876000 Credit Line Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.