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OGO I was first in a new series of standardized spacecraft
capable of conducting many related experiments. OGO I carried 20
experiments, more than any previous satellite. The spacecraft's
highly elliptical orbit was planned to permit correlated
investigations of geophysical and solar phenomena in the Earth's
atmosphere and magnetosphere, and in interplanetary space.
Scientific instrumentation totaled 190 pounds and included
experiments from nine universities and seven government laboratories.
Spacecraft systems included a communication and data handling system
to store up to 128,000 bits per second. Louvers on the sides and on
one end of the main body provided thermal control. Power was supplied
by more than 32,000 solar cells and nickel-cadmium batteries. Fully
deployed, the satellite was 59 feet long and 20 feet across the solar
panels. Its weight at lift-off was 1046 pounds.
OGO I was successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center on
September 5, 1964, by an Atlas-Agena B launch vehicle. It was placed
in an orbit of 175 to 98,287 miles at a 31 degree inclination. Two
experiment booms failed to deploy properly, however, and one of these
booms obscured the horizon scanner's view of Earth. As a result,
spacecraft attitude could not be Earth oriented and OGO I remained
spin stabilized at 5 rpm. The solar panels were turned to a more
favorable sun angle and all 20 experiments were able to provide data.
The value of the data varied, but useful information was being
received from all experiments. OGO I, together with data from
Explorer XXI, has indicated the source of much of the Van Allen belt's
high-energy radiation as the solar wind - entering the magnetosphere
through weak field lines in the magnetosphere's tail on the side of
the Earth opposite the sun.