Pioneer 6 [NASA]
Official name PIONEER 7
Alternative name Pioneer 7
Cospar ID 1966-075A
Norad ID 2398
Launch date 1966-08-17
Launch site AFETR
Launch vehicle Delta-E1
Country/Organization USA
Type application Solar Orbiter
Operator NASA
RCS size UNKNOWN
Decay date ON ORBIT
Shape Cyl + 3 Rod
Mass (kg) 62.98
Diameter (m) 0.9
Height (m) 0.9
Span (m^2) 3.3
Contractors TRW
Propulsion ?
Power Solar cells (body mounted), batteries

Pioneer A to E (Pioneer 6 to 9 after launch) were a series of five solar-orbiting, spin-stabilized, solar-cell and battery-powered satellites designed to obtain measurements of interplanetary phenomena from widely separated points in space on a continuing basis.

The spacecraft carried experiments to study positive ions and electrons in the solar wind, the interplanetary electron density (radio propagation experiment), solar and galactic cosmic rays, and the interplanetary magnetic field. Their main antenna were a high-gain directional antenna. The spacecraft were spin-stabilized at about 60 rpm, and the spin axis was perpendicular to the ecliptic plane and pointed approximately toward the south ecliptic pole.

Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
PIONEER 6 1965-105A 1965-12-16 AFETR Delta-E
PIONEER 7 1966-075A 1966-08-17 AFETR Delta-E1
PIONEER 8 1967-123A 1967-12-13 AFETR Delta-E1 with TTS 1
PIONEER 9 1968-100A 1968-11-08 AFETR Delta-E1 with TTS 2