From: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Re: Pioneer 6 Update - 11/11/92
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   
Reply-To: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 00:47:42 GMT

In article <1992Nov12.144347.5579@news.weeg.uiowa.edu>, jboggs@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu (John D. Boggs) writes...
>From article <1992Nov11.170839.20313@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov>, by baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke):
>> 
>>      Pioneer 6 was launched on December 16, 1965 and is the oldest surviving
>> spacecraft.  Pioneer 6 was last supported on December 16, 1990, on the
>> 25th anniversary of its launch, and no problems were encountered then.
> 
>Where is Pioneer 6 now?  Is that the one that passed Pluto's orbit some
>time back?  How far has it gotten?  [I'm out of touch with space stuff
>since I gave up sci-fi]
> 

Pioneer 6 is in solar orbit in the inner part of the solar system.  Four
spacecraft were launched in the 1960's to study the Sun, Pioneer 6, 7, 8 and
9.  All but Pioneer 9 are still alive.  Here are the orbital elements for
Pioneer 6.


Each entry is as follows:

MISS indicates the mission name, followed by its launch date in the
  form of an L followed by YYMMDD.  The last number on this line is
  a U followed by YYMMDD, which indicates when the database was updated.

EPOCH = First number is epoch of elements as YYMMDD. HHMMSS.
  Second number is start time, third number is stop time for elements.
  Start and stop times given as YYMMDD.FF (i.e. FF is fraction of a day).

X = Classical elements in Earth ecliptic and equinox of 1950.
  First line gives, left to right:  semimajor axis (km), eccentricity,
    inclination (degrees).
  Second line gives, left to right:  longitude of ascending node
    (degrees), argument of periapsis (degrees), mean anomaly.

All elements are Sun-centered.

                              ________


 MISS  PIONEER 6 L651216 U850304 
 EPOCH  =   651216.  000000.     651216.00     731218.00   
 X      =   134387958.00000      94.2805931000e-03  .16916329000000   
           -101.49333000000     4.5929197000000    -3422.7628000000   
 EPOCH  =   731218.  000000.     731218.00     820101.00   
 X      =   134367314.34489      94.2609224339e-03  .20239761376389   
           -109.09551548849     12.226221186036    -38.025874630285   
 EPOCH  =   820101.  000000.     820101.00     830101.00   
 X      =   134425840.00000      94.4089691000e-03  .16864667000000   
           -102.58174600000     5.4331765000000     119.68898000000   
 EPOCH  =   830101.  000000.     830101.00     850101.00   
 X      =   134443580.00000      94.3645660000e-03  .16903797300000   
           -102.57813800000     5.4968432700000    -178.04414400000   
 EPOCH  =   841101.  000000.     850101.00     991231.00   
 X      =   134453616.99108      94.2278871396e-03  .16897494141936   
           -102.62726688528     5.4036423943013    -122.93463008118   

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