Interplanetary Monitoring Platform
Interplanetary Monitoring Platform was a program managed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, as part of the Explorers program, with the primary objectives of investigation of interplanetary plasma and the interplanetary magnetic field. The orbiting of IMP satellites in a variety of interplanetary and earth orbits allowed study of spatial and temporal relationships of geophysical and interplanetary phenomena simultaneously by several other NASA satellites.[1]
Satellites
| Launch Date | Launch Place | Satellite | Launch mass | Decay Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 November 1963, 02:30 UTC[2] | Cape Canaveral LC-17B[2] | Explorer 18 (IMP A) | 138 kilograms (304 lb) | December 30, 1965 | |
| 4 October 1964, 03:45 UTC[2] | Cape Canaveral LC-17A[2] | Explorer 21 (IMP B) | 138 kilograms (304 lb) | January 1, 1966 | |
| 29 May 1965, 12:00 UTC[2] | Cape Canaveral LC-17B[2] | Explorer 28 (IMP C) | 128 kilograms (282 lb) | 4 July 1968 | |
| 1 July 1966, 16:02 UTC[2] | Cape Canaveral LC-17A[2] | Explorer 33 (IMP D) | 212 kilograms (467 lb) | In orbit | |
| 24 May 1967, 14:05 UTC[2] | Vandenberg SLC-2E[2] | Explorer 34 (IMP D) | 163 kilograms (359 lb) | May 3, 1969 | |
| 19 July 1967, 14:19 UTC[2] | Cape Canaveral LC-17B[2] | Explorer 35 (IMP E) | 104 kilograms (229 lb) | June 24, 1973 | Positioned in Selenocentric orbit. |
| 21 June 1969, 08:47 UTC[2] | Vandenberg SLC-2W[2] | Explorer 41 (IMP G) | 175 kilograms (386 lb) | December 23, 1972 | |
| 13 de marzo de 1971, 16:15 UTC[2] | Cape Canaveral LC-17A[2] | Explorer 43 (IMP H) | 635 kilograms (1,400 lb) | October 2, 1974 | |
| 23 September 1972, 01:20 UTC[2] | Cape Canaveral LC-17B[2] | Explorer 47 (IMP I) | 390 kilograms (860 lb) | In orbit | |
| 26 October 1973, 02:26 UTC[2] | Cape Canaveral LC-17B[2] | Explorer 50 (IMP J) | 410 kilograms (900 lb) | In orbit | Last satellite IMP. |
Technology
MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) devices were adopted by NASA for the IMP program in 1964.[3] The use of MOSFETs was a major step forward in spacecraft electronics design.[4]
Applications
IMPs were used to study the magnetic fields, solar wind and cosmic rays outside the magnetic field of the Earth. It was closely related to the development of the Apollo program.[5] Data gathered by IMP spacecraft and satellites were used to support the Apollo program, enabling the first manned Moon landing with the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.[4]
References
- ^ NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center. "Interplanetary Monitoring Platform - Engineering, History and Achievements" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-06-24.
{{cite web}}: Check|first=value (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
- ^ White, H. D.; Lokerson, D. C. (1971). "The Evolution of IMP Spacecraft Mosfet Data Systems". IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science. 18 (1): 233–236. doi:10.1109/TNS.1971.4325871. ISSN 0018-9499.
- ^ a b Interplanetary Monitoring Platform (PDF). NASA. 29 August 1989. pp. 1, 11, 134. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ Shayler, David J.; David, Shayler (2002). Apollo: The Lost and Forgotten Missions. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 163. ISBN 9781852335755.
External links
- IMP (Interplanetary Monitoring Platform). David Darling