Lunar Orbiter 4

"Lunar Orbiter-D"
NSSDC ID: 67-041A

Description:
Lunar Orbiter 4 was designed primarily to photograph smooth
areas of the lunar surface for selection and verification of safe
landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo missions. It was
also equipped to collect selenodetic, radiation intensity, and
micrometeoroid impact data. The spacecraft was placed in a
cislunar trajectory and injected into an elliptical highly inclined
lunar orbit for data acquisition. It was stabilized in a three-axis
orientation by using the sun and the star Canopus as primary
angular references. A three-axis inertial system provided
stabilization during maneuvers and when the sun and Canopus
were occulted by the Moon. Communications were maintained
by an S-band system, which utilized a directional and an
omnidirectional antenna. The spacecraft acquired photographic
data from May 11 to 26, 1967, and readout occurred through
June 1, 1967. Accurate data were acquired from all other
experiments throughout the mission. The spacecraft was used
for tracking purposes until it impacted the lunar surface due
to the natural decay of the orbit no later than October 31,
1967, between 22--30 degrees W longitude. 

Launch Information:
Launch Date/Time: 1967-05-04 at 22:25:00 UTC
Launch Site/Country: Cape Canaveral, United States
On-orbit dry mass: 385.60 kg
Launch Vehicle: Atlas-Agena D