Pioneer 11 — launch
Date in UTC
Pioneer 11 (originally designated Pioneer G) is a NASA space probe launched in 1973 that completed the first mission to the planet Saturn. It was the first spacecraft to encounter Saturn, the second to fly through the asteroid belt, and the second to fly past Jupiter. It later became the fourth human-made object to pass beyond the orbits of the planets and the second of five artificial objects to reach the escape velocity needed to leave the Solar System. NASA Ames Research Center in California managed the mission, and TRW Inc. built the spacecraft. The spacecraft was built around a hexagonal satellite bus and used four radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) to supply electrical power, producing a combined 155 watts at launch.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_11. Related NASA reference: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/pioneer-11/. Description adapted from Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).
- Category
- Launches and Flight Tests
- Type
- Orbital launch
- Subjects
- Space transportation
- Mission
- Pioneer 11
- Organization
- NASA Lewis Research Center
- Vehicle
- Atlas SLV-3D Centaur
- Location
- Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida
- Country
- US
- Outcome
- Successful
Sources and attribution
- Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)
- Wikipedia — Pioneer 11 (opens in a new tab) — Adapted from Wikipedia contributors; selected sentences retained and edited for length, reference markers and pronunciation glosses. CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Article and edit history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_11 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Timeline of Space Exploration Missions 1957 to 2031 (opens in a new tab)
- NASA — Pioneer 11 (opens in a new tab)
- NASA NSSDCA — Pioneer 11 (opens in a new tab)
