PEGASUS ORBITS

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30678, 18 February 1965, Page 13

PEGASUS ORBITS

Wings Open In Space

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) CAPE KENNEDY, Feb. 17. The United States yesterday orbited Pegasus I—a huge “star” that will be visible on clear nights all over the world.

The first of three winged spacecraft designed to detect tiny meteoroids which may pose a threat to future space travellers, it was sent into orbit with unparalleled accuracy 400 miles out in space by America’s most powerful rocket, the 560-ton Saturn I. The satellite is slowly rolling and tumbling as it circles the earth every 97 minutes, its wings extended 96 feet.

Large clouds of the cosmic dust are believed to gather between the earth and the moon, and Pegasus should be peppered by thousands of particles during its 18 months of life.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientists were downcast when the first reading of data showed Pegasus bad not gone into the desired orbit. But the data had been misread, and later tracking information showed it had been guided into the most accurate orbit they had achieved.