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Mission record

Explorer 49

Also known as PL-693B, Radio Astronomy Explorer, RAE-2

NASA-Office of Space Science · Launched

Explore trajectory

Completed · Success

A radio astronomy observatory placed in lunar orbit so that the Moon would shield it from terrestrial radio interference.

Destinations
Moon
Launch vehicle
Delta
Launch site
Cape Canaveral, United States
Countries
United States
Mission types
Orbiter

Chronology

Mission timeline

  1. Launch

    Explorer 49 launched from Cape Canaveral

  2. Orbit insertion

    RAE-B was placed into lunar orbit after a 20 second kickmotor firing

    Moon

  3. Milestone

    The observatory began operations

    Moon

  4. Milestone

    The lower V-antenna was extended to its full 229-m length

    Moon

  5. Loss of contact

    Contact was lost; the orbiter presumably crashed some time afterwards

    Moon

Mission architecture

Vehicles

  • Explorer 49 · Orbiter

    Destinations: Moon

Trajectory record

Trajectory dataset not yet available

No verified trajectory dataset is committed for this mission, so Mission Atlas renders no path.

Provenance

Sources

Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.

Data verified through August 27, 2026