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Hitchhiker 2
Mission type	Technology
Operator	USAF
COSPAR ID	1963-042B
SATCAT no.	682
Spacecraft properties
Bus	P-11
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin / MIT
Launch mass	60 kilograms (130 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	October 29, 1963, 21:19 UTC
Rocket	Thor SLV-2A Agena D 386
Launch site	Vandenberg SLC-1W
End of mission
Deactivated	May 23, 1965
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Eccentricity	0.02201
Perigee altitude	285 kilometres (177 mi)
Apogee altitude	585 kilometres (364 mi)
Inclination	89.9°
Period	93.4 minutes
Epoch	October 29, 1963

Hitchhiker 2 (or P-11 4202, P-11 AS and OPS 3316) was a satellite launched by U.S. Air Force. It was launched with the aim of studying and measuring cosmic radiation. The satellite was the second successful satellite of the P-11 program, following the failure of the first Hitchhiker satellite in March 1963. It was launched on October 29, 1963 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on a Thor-Agena launch vehicle.

On May 23, 1965, the satellite re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.

Instruments

1 Geiger tube (40-4 MeV)
1 Faraday cup plasma
1 Electron detector (0.3-5.0 MeV)
1 Proton detector (0.7-5.3 MeV)
2 electrostatic analysers (4-100 keV)

References

^ National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center. "Hitch Hiker 2". NSSDC Master Catalog. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved June 1, 2018.