Category. | Statistic. |
---|---|
Launch vehicle. | Atlas LV-3 Agena-B |
Launch date. | February 17, 1965, 17:05:00 UTC |
Launch site. | Cape Canaveral LC-12 |
Ceased operations. | February 20, 1965, 09:57:36.756 UTC |
Owner(s). | NASA |
Major contractor(s) | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
Is it still in orbit. | No |
Launch mass | 367 kilograms (809 lb) |
Nationality(s). | American |
Satellite type. | Lunar impactor |
Links | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_8 |
It's 6 television vidicon cameras: two full-scan cameras, and four partial scan cameras helped document the Moon's surface and gave NASA much information on whether a moon landing was possible. The impact crater of Ranger 8, approximately 13.5m wide, was later photographed by Lunar Orbiter 4. American scientists and officials saw it's footage and crater as a vindication of earlier theories about the moon's surface.