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Satellite, Biosatellite 2

National Air and Space Museum

Object Details

Manufacturer
General Electric Company
Summary
This is the recovered return capsule of Biosatellite 2, one of several National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) satellites designed to investigate the influence of space flight on living organisms. On 7 September 1967, Biosatellite 2 was launched with various specimens, including insects, frog eggs, microorganisms, and plants. The primary objective of the mission was to determine whether organisms were more or less sensitive to ionizing radiation in microgravity than on Earth. Because of tropical storms in the recovery area and communications problems with the satellite the mission was terminated after 45 hours. This capsule containing the specimens separated from the satellite, deployed a parachute after entering the atmosphere, and was then recovered by an aircraft. The artifact was donated by NASA.
Credit Line
Transferred from NASA.
Inventory Number
A19731629000
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed-Instruments & Payloads
Materials
Overall, metal
Dimensions
Overall: 2 ft. 3 in. × 3 ft. 2 in. (68.6 × 96.5cm)
Storage (Overall of shipping crate with object inside): 109.2 × 124.5 × 124.5cm, 224.5kg (3 ft. 7 in. × 4 ft. 1 in. × 4 ft. 1 in., 495lb.)
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_A19731629000
Metadata Usage (text)
Not determined
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9bab2b31d-646e-47d1-b140-3e052eba012c

Related Content

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    Air and Space Museum
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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