Editing Ranger program (section)

{{short description|American uncrewed lunar space missions in the 1960s}}
{{For|the U.S. Army training course|Ranger School}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox spacecraft class
| name                 = Ranger
| image                = Ranger 6789.svg
| image_caption        = Block III Ranger spacecraft
 
| manufacturer         = [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]
| designer             =
| country              = United States
| operator             = [[NASA]]
| applications         =

<!--Specifications-->
| spacecraft_type      =
| spacecraft_bus       = Block I, Block II, Block III
| design_life          =
| launch_mass          =
| dry_mass             = 
| dimensions           = 
| volume               = 
| power                = 
| batteries            = 
| equipment            = 
| orbits               =

<!--Production-->
| status               = Retired
| built                =
| launched             = 9
| failed               = 5
| lost                 = 
| first                = August 23, 1961
| last                 = March 21, 1965

<!--Related spacecraft-->
| derivedfrom          =
| derivatives          = [[Mariner program|Mariner]] 
| subsatellites        =

<!--insignia-->
| insignia             = 
| insignia_size        = 
| insignia_alt         = 
| insignia_caption     =

<!--image at bottom of infobox-->
| bottom_image         = 1964 71395L-Ranger.svg
| bottom_image_caption = Block II Ranger spacecraft
}}
[[Image:Ranger7 PIA02975.jpg|thumb|200px|right|First image of the Moon returned by a Ranger mission (Ranger 7 in 1964)]]

The '''Ranger program''' was a series of [[uncrewed space mission]]s by the [[United States]] in the 1960s whose objective was to obtain the first close-up images of the [[surface of the Moon]]. The Ranger spacecraft were designed to take images of the lunar surface, transmitting those images to Earth until the spacecraft were destroyed upon impact. A series of mishaps, however, led to the failure of the first six flights. At one point, the program was called "shoot and hope".<ref>[http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/CortrightEM/EMC_8-20-98.pdf Cortright Oral History (p25)]</ref> Congress launched an investigation into "problems of management" at [[NASA]] Headquarters and [[JPL|Jet Propulsion Laboratory]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Dick|first=Steven J.|title=NASA's First 50 Years: Historical Perspectives|url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4704.pdf|publisher=NASA|website=history.nasa.gov|access-date=17 June 2019|page=12}}</ref>  After two reorganizations of the agencies,{{citation needed|date=October 2012}} [[Ranger 7]] successfully returned images in July 1964, followed by two more successful missions.

Ranger was originally designed, beginning in 1959, in three distinct phases, called "blocks". Each block had different mission objectives and progressively more advanced system design. The [[JPL]] mission designers planned multiple launches in each block, to maximize the engineering experience and scientific value of the mission and to assure at least one successful flight. Total research, development, launch, and support costs for the Ranger series of spacecraft (Rangers 1 through 9) was approximately $170 million (equivalent to ${{format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|170000000|1965}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}}).{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}