Ranger 6

Ranger 6 was designed to achieve a lunar impact trajectory and to transmit high-resolution photographs of the lunar surface during the final minutes of flight up to impact. The spacecraft carried six television vidicon Video camera tube

In older video camera [i]s, before the 1990s [i], a video camera tube or pickup tube was used inst ... 

 cameras, 2 wide angle and 4 narrow angle to accomplish these objectives. The cameras were arranged in two separate chains, or channels, each self-contained with separate power supplies, timers, and transmitters so as to afford the greatest reliability and probability of obtaining high-quality video pictures. No other experiments were carried on the spacecraft. Due to a failure of the camera system no images were returned.

Discussions

Discussion Features

Ask a question about 'Ranger 6'    Start a new discussion about 'Ranger 6'    Answer questions about 'Ranger 6'    'Ranger 6' discussion forum

Timeline

1964   Ranger 6 is launched by NASA NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States Government [i], res ...  . Its mission is to carry television Television Television is a telecommunication [i] system for ...   cameras and to crash-land on the Moon Moon The Moon is Earth [i]'s only natural satellite [i]. ...  .

Encyclopedia

Instruments Television: transmit closeup pictures of the lunar surface |} Ranger 6 was designed to achieve a lunar impact trajectory and to transmit high-resolution photographs of the lunar surface during the final minutes of flight up to impact. The spacecraft carried six television vidicon Video camera tube In older video camera [i]s, before the 1990s [i], a video camera tube or pickup tube was used inst ...   cameras, 2 wide angle and 4 narrow angle to accomplish these objectives. The cameras were arranged in two separate chains, or channels, each self-contained with separate power supplies, timers, and transmitters so as to afford the greatest reliability and probability of obtaining high-quality video pictures. No other experiments were carried on the spacecraft. Due to a failure of the camera system no images were returned. Spacecraft design Rangers 6, 7 Ranger 7 Ranger 7 was designed to achieve a lunar impact trajectory and to transmit high-resolution photographs of the ...  , 8 Ranger 8 Ranger 8 was designed to achieve a lunar impact trajectory and to transmit high-resolution photographs o...  , and 9 Ranger 9 Ranger 9 was designed to achieve a lunar impact trajectory [i] and to transmit high-resolution photograp...   were the so-called Block 3 versions of the Ranger spacecraft. The spacecraft consisted of a hexagonal aluminum frame base 1.5 m across on which was mounted the propulsion and power units, topped by a truncated conical tower which held the TV cameras. Two solar panel Solar panel The term solar panel may refer either to a photovoltaic array [i], a collection of solar cell [i]s used ...   wings, each 739 mm wide by 1537 mm long, extended from opposite edges of the base with a full span of 4.6 m, and a pointable high gain dish antenna was hinge mounted at one of the corners of the base away from the solar panels. A cylindrical quasiomnidirectional antenna was seated on top of the conical tower. The overall height of the spacecraft was 3.6 m. Propulsion for the mid-course trajectory correction was provided by a 224 N thrust monopropellant hydrazine Hydrazine Hydrazine is the chemical compound [i] with formula [i] N [i]2H [i]4....   engine with 4 jet-vane vector control. Orientation and attitude control about 3 axes was enabled by 12 nitrogen Nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element [i] which has the symbol N and atomic number [i] 7 in the periodic table [i] ...   gas jets coupled to a system of 3 gyros Gyroscope A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation [i], based on the principl...  , 4 primary Sun sensors, 2 secondary Sun sensors, and an Earth sensor. Power was supplied by 9792 Si solar cells contained in the two solar panels, giving a total array area of 2.3 square meters and producing 200 W. Two 1200 watt.hour AgZnO batteries rated at 26.5 V with a capacity for 9 hours of operation provided power to each of the separate communication/TV camera chains. Two 1000 watt.hour AgZnO batteries stored power for spacecraft operations. Communications were through the quasiomnidirectional low-gain antenna and the parabolic high-gain antenna. Transmitters aboard the spacecraft included a 60 W TV channel F at 959.52 MHz, a 60 W TV channel P at 960.05 MHz, and a 3 W transponder channel 8 at 960.58 MHz. The telecommunications equipment converted the composite video signal from the camera transmitters into an RF signal for subsequent transmission through the spacecraft high-gain antenna. Sufficient video bandwidth was provided to allow for rapid framing sequences of both narrow- and wide-angle television pictures. Mission Profile Ranger 6 was launched into an Earth parking orbit and injected on a lunar trajectory by a second Agena burn. The midcourse trajectory correction was accomplished early in the flight by ground control. On February 2, 1964, 65.5 hours after launch, Ranger 6 impacted the Moon on the eastern edge of Mare Tranquillitatis . The orientation of the spacecraft to the surface during descent was correct, but no video signal was received and no camera data obtained. A review board determined the most likely cause of failure was due to an arc-over in the TV power system when it inadvertently turned on for 67 seconds approximately 2 minutes after launch during the period of booster-engine separation. This fourth American attempt at lunar impact was the closest success. The spacecraft, the first Block III type vehicle with a suite of six TV cameras, was sterilized to avoid contaminating the lunar surface. The series would also serve as a test bed for future interplanetary spacecraft by deploying systems that could be used for more ambitious missions. The Block III spacecraft carried a 173-kilogram TV unit . The six cameras included two full-scan and four partial-scan cameras. Ranger 6 flew to the Moon successfully and impacted precisely on schedule at 09:24:32 UT on 2 February. Unfortunately, the power supply for the TV camera package had short-circuited three days previously during Atlas booster separation and left the system inoperable. The cameras were to have transmitted high-resolution photos of the lunar approach from 1,448 kilometers to 6.4 kilometers range in support of Project Apollo. Impact coordinates were 9°24' north latitude and 21°30' east longitude. See also List of artificial objects on the Moon List of artificial objects on the Moon The following table is a partial list of artificial objects on the surface of the Moon [i]. ...  External link Email Print Bookmark Link Categories: Ranger program