Explorer S-66
Explorer S-66 (also called BE-A, acronym of Beacon Explorer-A), was a NASA satellite launched on 19 March 1964 by means of a Thor-Delta B launch vehicle, but it could not reach orbit due to a vehicle launcher failure.
Spacecraft
Beacon Explorer-A was a small ionospheric research satellite instrumented with an electrostatic probe, a 20-, 40-, and 41-Hz ionospheric radio beacon, a passive laser tracking reflector, and a navigation experiment. Its primary objective was to obtain worldwide observations of total electron content between the spacecraft and the Earth. The spacecraft was an octagonal right prism 24.5 × 45.7 cm (9.6 × 18.0 in)-diameter terminated on top with a truncated octagonal pyramid on which the laser reflectors were mounted. Appended were four hinged paddles carrying solar cells. Each paddle was 167.6 × 25.4 cm (66.0 × 10.0 in).
Launch
During the third stage operation, a malfunction of unidentified origin prevented successful orbit. Satellite and third stage descent were in the south Atlantic Ocean with no useful scientific data obtained.
