Explorer Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This cache is a part of the NASA Program series of caches. This cache contains an integer clue written in the cover of the cache which will help you solve three mystery caches. Two of the mystery caches are standard caches which we feel most people should attempt. The third is a ‘bonus’ cache for those desiring an increased level of difficulty.
Our goal was to provide a positive caching opportunity that would be ideal for introducing new geocachers to the experience. We feel this series is best solved by starting at the Big Falls County Park (South Side) parking lot (parking fee required) and finding the caches by going in a clockwise direction. To complete this series, you will walk approximately 2 ½ miles most of which is on fairly good trails. We hope you enjoy this series as much as we enjoyed setting it!
Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States when it was sent into space on January 31, 1958. Following the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency was directed to launch a satellite using its Jupiter C rocket developed under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory received the assignment to design, build and operate the artificial satellite that would serve as the rocket's payload. JPL completed this job in less than three months.
The primary science instrument on Explorer 1 was a cosmic ray detector designed to measure the radiation environment in Earth orbit. Once in space this experiment, provided by Dr. James Van Allen of the University of Iowa, revealed a much lower cosmic ray count than expected. Van Allen theorized that the instrument may have been saturated by very strong radiation from a belt of charged particles trapped in space by Earth's magnetic field. The existence of these radiation belts was confirmed by another U.S. satellite launched two months later, and they became known as the Van Allen Belts in honor of their discoverer.
Explorer 1 revolved around Earth in a looping orbit that took it as close as 354 kilometers (220 miles) to Earth and as far as 2,515 kilometers (1,563 miles). It made one orbit every 114.8 minutes, or a total of 12.54 orbits per day. The satellite itself was 203 centimeters (80 inches) long and 15.9 centimeters (6.25 inches) in diameter. Explorer 1 made its final transmission on May 23, 1958. It entered Earth's atmosphere and burned up on March 31, 1970, after more than 58,000 orbits. The satellite weighed 14 kilograms (30.8 pounds).
A launch attempt of a similar satellite, Explorer 2, was made on March 5, 1958, but the fourth stage of the Jupiter-C rocket failed to ignite. Explorer 3 was successfully launched on March 26, 1958, and operated until June 16 of that year. Explorer 4 was launched July 26, 1958, and operated until October 6 of that year. Launch of Explorer 5 on August 24, 1958, failed when the rocket's booster collided with its second stage after separation, causing the firing angle of the upper stage to be incorrect.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Zl erznvaqre vf n gra sbbg fghzc.