Object Details
- Manufacturer
- Hughes Aircraft Corp.
- Summary
- Omnidirectional antennas were a staple of NASA’s early planetary exploration craft. Early Ranger (Blocks I through III), Mariner, and lunar-orbiting spacecraft all featured omnidirectional antenna at their apexes. For Ranger, most of the antenna remained covered, with only the very tip protruding from a conical encasing. Mariner featured longer antennas which for some missions, were encased behind grating or in a conic cover. This antenna was used on a lunar orbiter, which photographed the moon in the late 1960s to select landing sites for a human landing mission. Made mostly from aluminum, the antenna protruded directly from the side of the spacecraft. The lunar orbiters featured two antennae: high-gain with singular directional patterns, and low-gain which was omnidirectional.
- Hughes Aircraft, the manufacturer of this antenna, donated it to the Museum in 1973.
- Credit Line
- Gift of Huges Aircraft Company
- Inventory Number
- A19731142000
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- EQUIPMENT-Aerials & Antenna
- Materials
- Aluminum, Paint, Plastic, Paper, Synthetic Fabric, Brass, Gold Plating, Mineral (Glass) Fabric, Phenolic Resin
- Dimensions
- Storage (Rehoused on aluminum pallet with three additional objects): 153.7 × 179.1 × 104.1cm, 222.3kg (60 1/2 × 70 1/2 × 41 in., 490lb.)
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- See more items in
- National Air and Space Museum Collection
- National Air and Space Museum
- Record ID
- nasm_A19731142000
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9ac920154-d294-490e-9d47-be2f0680bf4b
