Lunar Orbiter 5, the last of the Lunar Orbiter series, was designed to take additional Apollo and Surveyor landing site photography and to take broad survey images of unphotographed parts of the Moon's far side. It was also equipped to collect selenodetic, radiation intensity, and micrometeoroid impact data and was used to evaluate the Manned Space Flight Network tracking stations and Apollo Orbit Determination Program. The spacecraft was placed in a cislunar trajectory and on August 5, 1967 was injected into an elliptical near polar lunar orbit 194.5 by 6,023 kilometres (120.9 mi × 3,742.5 mi) with an inclination of 85 degrees and a period of 8 hours 30 minutes. On August 7 the perilune was lowered to 100 kilometers (62 mi), and on August 9 the orbit was lowered to a 99-by-1,499-kilometer (62 mi × 931 mi), 3 hour 11 minute period.
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![]() Image of the Earth taken by Lunar Orbiter 5, enhanced by LOIRP | |
Mission type | Lunar orbiter |
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Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | 1967-075A ![]() |
SATCAT no. | 2907 |
Mission duration | 183 days |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | Langley Research Center |
Launch mass | 385.6 kilograms (850 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | August 1, 1967, 22:32:00 (1967-08-01UTC22:32Z) UTC |
Rocket | Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-13 |
End of mission | |
Disposal | Deorbited |
Decay date | January 31, 1968 (1968-02-01) |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Selenocentric |
Semi-major axis | 4,846.8 kilometers (3,011.7 mi) |
Eccentricity | 0.26 |
Periselene altitude | 194.5 kilometers (120.9 mi) |
Aposelene altitude | 6,023 kilometers (3,743 mi) |
Inclination | 85 degrees |
Period | 510.08 minutes |
Lunar orbiter | |
Orbital insertion | August 5, 1967 |
Impact site | 02.79°S 83.01°W / -02.79; -83.01 |
Orbits | 1,380 |
Lunar Orbiter program None → |
The spacecraft acquired photographic data from August 6 to 18, 1967, and readout occurred until August 27, 1967. A total of 633 high resolution and 211 medium resolution frames at resolution down to 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) were acquired, bringing the cumulative photographic coverage by the five Lunar Orbiter craft to 99% of the Moon's surface. Accurate data were acquired from all other experiments throughout the mission. The spacecraft was tracked until it struck the lunar surface on command at 2.79 degrees S latitude, 83 degrees W longitude (selenographic coordinates) on January 31, 1968.
Lunar Photographic Studies : | Evaluation of Apollo and Surveyor landing sites |
Meteoroid Detectors : | Detection of micrometeoroids in the lunar environment |
Caesium Iodide Dosimeters : | Radiation environment en route to and near the Moon |
Selenodesy : | Gravitational field and physical properties of the Moon |
Features on the near side of the Moon that were photographic targets included Petavius, Hyginus, Messier, Tycho, Copernicus, Gassendi, Vitello, Mons Gruithuisen Gamma, Prinz, Aristarchus, Vallis Schroteri, Marius Hills, Montes Apenninus, Rimae Plato, Sinus Aestuum, Hipparchus, Rimae Sulpicius Gallus, Rimae Calippus, Censorinus, Dionysius, and the future landing site of Apollo 11.
Lunar Orbiter program | ||
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← 1966 · Orbital launches in 1967 · 1968 → | |
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Intelsat II F-2 | OPS 1664 | IDCSP 9 · IDCSP 10 · IDCSP 11 · IDCSP 12 · IDCSP 13 · IDCSP 14 · IDCSP 15 · IDCSP 16 | Kosmos 138 | Kosmos 139 | ESSA-4 | OV3-5 | OPS 4399 | Lunar Orbiter 3 | Kosmos 140 | OPS 6073 | Diadème 1 | Kosmos 141 | Kosmos 142 | Diadème 2 | OPS 4750 | OPS 4204 | Kosmos 143 | Kosmos 144 | Kosmos 145 | OSO 3 | Kosmos 146 | Kosmos 147 | Kosmos 148 | Kosmos 149 | Kosmos 150 · OGCh No.8 | Intelsat II F-3 | Kosmos 151 | Kosmos 152 | OPS 4779 | Kosmos 153 | ATS-2 · RPM-481 | Kosmos 154 | Kosmos 155 | Unnamed | OPS 0100 | Surveyor 3 | ESSA-5 | Soyuz 1 | San Marco 2 | OPS 4243 | Kosmos 156 | OPS 6638 · OPS 6679 · ERS-18 · ERS-20 · ERS-27 | Lunar Orbiter 4 | Ariel 3 | OPS 4696 · OPS 1967 | Kosmos 157 | Kosmos 158 | Kosmos 159 | Kosmos 160 | OPS 7218 | Kosmos 161 | OPS 4321 · OPS 5557 | Explorer 34 | Molniya-1 No.8 | ESRO-2A | NRL PL-151 · NRL PL-152 · NRL PL-153 · NRL PL-154 · NRL-PL 159 · Timation 1 · Calsphere 3 · Calsphere 4 · OPS 5712 | Kosmos 162 | OPS 4360 | Kosmos 163 | Kosmos 164 | Venera 4 | Kosmos 165 | Mariner 5 | Kosmos 166 | OPS 3559 · OPS 1873 | Kosmos 167 | Zenit-4 No.32 | OPS 4286 | Unnamed | SECOR-9 · Aurora | IDCSP 16 · IDCSP 17 · IDCSP 18 · IDCSP 19 · LES-5 · DODGE | Kosmos 168 | Surveyor 4 | Kosmos 169 | Explorer 35 | Zenit-4 No.33 | OPS 1879 | OV1-11 · OV1-12 · OV1-86 | OGO-4 | Kosmos 170 | Lunar Orbiter 5 | OPS 4827 | Kosmos 171 | Kosmos 172 | OPS 4886 | OPS 7202 | Kosmos 173 | Kosmos 174 | Zenit-2 No.51 | Biosatellite 2 | Surveyor 5 | Kosmos 175 | Kosmos 176 | OPS 5089 | Kosmos 177 | Kosmos 178 | OPS 4941 | Kosmos 179 | OPS 4947 | Kosmos 180 | Unnamed | 7K-L1 No.4L | Intelsat II F-4 | Molniya-1 No.9 | OPS 1264 | Kosmos 181 | Kosmos 182 | Kosmos 183 | OSO 4 | Molniya-1 No.12 | Kosmos 184 | OPS 4995 | Kosmos 185 | Kosmos 186 | Kosmos 187 | Kosmos 188 | Kosmos 189 | OPS 0562 · OPS 1587 | Kosmos 190 | ATS-3 | Surveyor 6 | Apollo 4 | ESSA-6 | Kosmos 191 | 7K-L1 No.5L | Kosmos 192 | Kosmos 193 | WRESAT | Kosmos 194 | OV3-6 | OPS 5000 | OPS 1001 | Pioneer 8 · ERS-30 | Kosmos 195 | Kosmos 196 | Kosmos 197 | Kosmos 198 | |
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in brackets. |
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