Does anyone know whether it is possible to predict when Ranger 3 might come back into visibility with a suitable scope?
The reason I ask is that it is 60 years ago today that Ranger 3 was launched, aimed for the moon, missed and now lost in space. This was also the day of my birth, with a similar outcome...
This is what I have been able to find:
Atlas 121 D - Agena B 6003 primary payload (Cospar ID: 1962 01 A, NORAD No. 00221), a hexagonal cylinder 2.51 m long, 1.52 m in diameter and 390 kg in weight (wet mass), passed 36,800 km ahead of the Moon on Jan. 28, 1962 23:45 UTC and is now in a 0.985 x 1.164 AU heliocentric orbit with orbital eccentricity of 0.083 and 0.40° inclination to the ecliptic. Its orbital period around the Sun is roughly 406 days.
Sounds like they lost it... Guess it will turn up eventually...
The reason I ask is that it is 60 years ago today that Ranger 3 was launched, aimed for the moon, missed and now lost in space. This was also the day of my birth, with a similar outcome...
This is what I have been able to find:
Atlas 121 D - Agena B 6003 primary payload (Cospar ID: 1962 01 A, NORAD No. 00221), a hexagonal cylinder 2.51 m long, 1.52 m in diameter and 390 kg in weight (wet mass), passed 36,800 km ahead of the Moon on Jan. 28, 1962 23:45 UTC and is now in a 0.985 x 1.164 AU heliocentric orbit with orbital eccentricity of 0.083 and 0.40° inclination to the ecliptic. Its orbital period around the Sun is roughly 406 days.
Heliocentric orbit (Sun orbit):----------------------------------------------Perihelion x Aphelion 0.985 x 1.164 AU.Eccentricity 0.083Incl. to ecliptic 0,40°Period (around the Sun) 406 daysRanger 3 Agena B stage (Cospar ID: 1962 01 B, NORAD No. 00222), a 6.7 m long and 1.52 m diameter cylinder with dry mass of roughly 770 kg is in unknown heliocentric orbit.Sounds like they lost it... Guess it will turn up eventually...