USAF Atlas LV-3 Agena B Ranger 4
Atlas LV-3 Agena B
Status
Success
Date
23 APR 1962
20:50
Mission Overview
Ranger 4 was a spacecraft designed to softly impact the lunar surface. Its solar panels were never extended and its sun and earth acquisition system was not initiated due to a failure of a timer in its central computer. It impacted the far side of the Moon on April 26 after 64 hours of flight.
Rocket
Atlas LV-3 Agena B
Mission Type
Lunar Exploration
Orbit
Lunar Impactor
Livestream
Not availableRocket Details
The Atlas LV-3A was a largely unsuccessful configuration until it was given an Agena B upper stage. It was responsible for the launch of Mariner II to Venus and had one of the first engines that could be restarted in orbit.
Height
20.27 m
Diameter
3.05 m
Launch Mass
130 T
Thrust
363 kN