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Launch SuccessfulNational Aeronautics and Space Administration

Scout X-3: Explorer 16

Explorer 16 was the second in the series of micrometeoroid satellites orbited by NASA. Its purpose was to obtain data on the near-earth meteoroid environment, thus providing an accurate estimate of the probability of penetration in spacecraft structures by meteoroids and allowing a more confident definition of the relationship between penetration flux and material thickness to be derived.

Sunday, 16 December 1962
Scout X-3

Mission Data

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
🇺🇸National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationEst. 1958
Launch VehicleScout X-3
Vehicle FamilyScout
Vehicle Record4 of 5 launches (80%)
Provider TypeGovernment
Agency Record122 successes / 20 failures (86%)
Success Streak12 consecutive
Mission TypeEarth Science
Target OrbitLow Earth Orbit
Launch PadLaunch Area 3
Location🇺🇸 Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA USA
Orbital Launches This Year#79
Agency Launches This Year#9
Launches From This Pad13
Launches From This Site87
Status Note

The launch vehicle successfully inserted its payload(s) into the target orbit(s).

About Scout X-3

The Scout family of rockets were were American launch vehicles designed to place small satellites into orbit around the Earth. The Scout multistage rocket was the first orbital launch vehicle to be entirely composed of solid fuel stages.

Launch Site

Launch Area 3 · 37.8495°N 75.4725°W

Launch data from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs.