Editing Explorer 3 (section)

==Launch and orbit==
Explorer 3 was launched at 17:38:03 [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]] on 26 March 1958 from [[Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 5]]<ref name=log>{{Cite web|url=https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/derived/launchlog.html|title=Launch Log|last=McDowell|first=Jonathan|publisher=Jonathan's Space Report|access-date=20 October 2024}}</ref> via the same type of modified Jupiter-C ([[Juno 1]]) as the prior two Explorers. A guidance system orbit placed the satellite into an orbit with a higher [[Apsis|apogee]] and lower [[Apsis|perigee]] than planned: {{cvt|1735|mi}} and {{cvt|125|mi}}, respectively. The ensuing [[orbital decay]] made for a comparatively short lifespan: initial estimates placed it at 4.6 months.<ref name=avweek1958a>{{cite magazine|date=31 March 1958|title=Explorer III Orbit|url=http://archive.aviationweek.com/issue/19580331#!&pid=26|magazine=[[Aviation Week & Space Technology | Aviation Week]]|publisher=[[McGraw Hill Education | McGraw Hill Publishing Company]]|access-date=20 October 2024|page=27|url-access=subscription | volume = 68 | number = 13}}</ref> In fact, the satellite reentered the atmosphere on 28 June 1958, after just 93 days of operation;<ref name="Trajectory"/> by the week before reentry, Explorer 3's apogee had dropped to {{cvt|375|mi}} and the perigee to {{cvt|99|mi}}.<ref name=avweek1958b>{{cite magazine|date=30 June 1958|title=Army Evaluates Data From Explorer III|url=http://archive.aviationweek.com/issue/19580630#!&pid=18|magazine=Aviation Week|publisher=McGraw Hill Publishing Company|access-date=19 October 2024|page=19|url-access=subscription | volume = 68 | number = 26}}</ref>