Editing Proton (satellite program) (section)

==Spacecraft design==

[[File:Proton satellite schematic (from SP-133).jpg|thumb|150px|Schematic of the Proton satellite|left]]

Protons 1–3 were largely identical craft massing {{convert|12200|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, with scientific packages developed under the supervision of Academician Sergey Nikolayevich Vernov of [[Moscow State University]]'s Scientific-Research Institute of Nuclear Physics.<ref name=rop/> Experiments included a [[gamma-ray]] telescope, a [[Scintillation counter|scintillator telescope]], and [[proportional counter]]s.<ref name="SP-133">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/scientificsatell00corl/page/778/mode/2up|author=William R. Corliss|title=Scientific Satellites|publisher=Science and Technical Information Division, Office of Technology Utilization, National Aeronautics and Space Administration|date=1967|location=Washington D.C.|pages=779–780}}</ref> The counters were able to determine the total energy of each super-high energy cosmic particle individually, a capability no prior satellite had possessed. Though the equipment had been developed eight years earlier (by Professor N. L. Grigorov), the UR-500 was the first booster powerful enough to orbit a satellite carrying the sensitive particle counter.<ref name="aa1965">{{cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/AAchronologies/1965.pdf|title=Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1965|publisher=NASA|page=342|access-date=24 April 2020}}</ref> The counters could measure cosmic rays with energy levels up to 100 million [[Electronvolt|eV]].<ref name=sov>{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Soviet Spacecraft|oclc=17249881|first=Douglas M.|last=Hart|date=1987|location=New York|publisher=Exeter Books|pages=82–83}}</ref> 

Proton 3 also was equipped with a [[Cherenkov radiation|gas-Cerenkov-scintillator]] telescope<ref name=meas>{{Cite journal |last=Akimov |first=V. V. |last2=Grigorov |first2=N. L. |last3=Nesterov |first3=V. E. |last4=Rapoport |first4=I. D. |last5=Savenko |first5=I. A. |last6=Skuridin |first6=G. A. |last7=Titenkov |first7=A. F. |date=1970 |title=Measurements of the primary cosmic ray spectra in the 1011-1014 eV energy range from Proton-1, 2, 3 satellites |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1970ICRC....1..517A |journal=Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Cosmic Rays, held in Budapest, 25 August – 4 September 1969 |volume=1 |pages=517-520 |bibcode=1970ICRC....1..517A|bibcode-access=free}}</ref> to attempt to detect the newly postulated fundamental particle, the [[quark]]. The entire experiment package massed {{convert|4000|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and was composed of metal, plastic, and paraffin blocks.<ref name=sov/>

[[Telemetry]] was relayed via a 19.910 [[Hertz|MHz]] beacon. Four solar panels powered the crafts, which were cooled by heat exchangers. The Protons were spin-stabilized, their [[Spacecraft attitude control|attitude]] controlled by jet and an on-board dampener. Satellite systems were controlled by an internal computer.<ref name="SP-133"/>

Proton 4 was considerably more massive at {{convert|17000|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. Its primary instrument was an ionization calorimeter composed of steel bars and plastic scintillators. A measuring device comprising one lump of carbon and another of polyethylene<ref name=sov/> provided data on cosmic rays and the energy spectrum in orbit, the possible collisions of cosmic ray particles with atmospheric nuclei of hydrogen, carbon, and iron, and continued the search for the quark.<ref name=nssdc4/>