| MISSION_DESCRIPTION |
Mission Overview
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The Pioneer mission set the stage for U.S. space exploration.
Pioneer 1 was the first manmade object to escape the Earth's
gravitational field. Later Pioneer 4 was the first spacecraft to fly
to the moon, Pioneer 10 was the first to Jupiter, Pioneer 11 was the
first to Saturn and Pioneer 12 was the first U.S. spacecraft to
orbit another planet, Venus. The following table summarizes the
Pioneer spacecraft and scientific objectives of the Pioneer mission.
Name Launch Mission Status (as of 1998)
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Pioneer 1 1958-10-11 Moon Reached altitude of 72765 miles
Pioneer 2 1958-11-08 Moon Reached altitude of 963 miles
Pioneer 3 1958-12-02 Moon Reached altitude of 63580 miles
Pioneer 4 1959-03-03 Moon Passed by moon into solar orbit
Pioneer 5 1960-03-11 Solar Orbit Entered solar orbit
Pioneer 6 1965-12-16 Solar Orbit Still operating
Pioneer 7 1966-08-17 Solar Orbit Still operating
Pioneer 8 1967-12-13 Solar Orbit Still operating
Pioneer 9 1967-11-08 Solar Orbit Signal lost in 1983
Pioneer E 1969-08-07 Solar Orbit Launch failure
Pioneer10 1972-03-02 Jupiter Communication terminated 1998
Pioneer11 1973-04-05 Jupiter/Saturn Communication terminated 1997
Pioneer12 1978-05-20 Venus Entered Venus atmos. 1992-10-08
Pioneer 11 was launched April 5, 1973. The mission included flybys
of Jupiter (periapsis December 2, 1974), and Saturn (periapsis
September 1, 1979). Following the Saturn Encounter the spacecraft
continued onward on a path towards the heliopause, and out of the
Solar System. The science mission ended September 30, 1995. Last
contact was made in November 1995.
Mission Phases
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LAUNCH
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Mission Phase Start Time : 1973-04-05
Mission Phase Stop Time : 1973-04-05
Spacecraft Operations Type : LAUNCH
EARTH-JUPITER CRUISE
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Mission Phase Start Time : 1973-04-05
Mission Phase Stop Time : 1974-11-03
Spacecraft Operations Type : CRUISE
JUPITER ENCOUNTER
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Mission Phase Start Time : 1974-11-03
Mission Phase Stop Time : 1975-01-01
Target Name : JUPITER
Periapsis Time : 1974-12-02
Periapsis Range : 130,354 km
Spacecraft Operations Type : FLYBY
JUPITER-SATURN CRUISE
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Mission Phase Start Time : 1975-01-01
Mission Phase Stop Time : 1997-03-31
Spacecraft Operations Type : CRUISE
SATURN ENCOUNTER
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Mission Phase Start Time : 1979-07-31
Mission Phase Stop Time : 1979-10-05
Target Name : SATURN
Periapsis Time : 1979-09-01
Periapsis Range : 43,000 km
Spacecraft Operations Type : FLYBY
POST-SATURN CRUISE
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Mission Phase Start Time : 1979-10-05
Mission Phase Stop Time : 1995-09-30
Spacecraft Operations Type : CRUISE
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