DME (Direct Measurement Explorer)

Also known as Explorer 31; it was launched together with the Canadian Alouette 2. The double-launch project, known as ISIS-X, was the first in a new cooperative NASA-Canadian Defense Research Board program for International Satellites for Ionospheric Studies. DME was placed in an orbit with an apogee (highest point) slightly higher than Alouette's and a perigee (lowest point) slightly lower. Eight ionospheric experiments sampled the environment both ahead and behind the satellite.

launch date	Nov. 28, 1965
launch vehicle	Thor-Agena B
launch site	Vandenberg Air Force Base
orbit	502 × 2,857 km × 79.8°
mass	99 kg

Related category

• SATELLITES AND SPACE PROBES

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