Editing Explorer 7 (section)

== Launch ==
Launch was originally scheduled for late September 1959, but the mission was delayed for a week after a [[PGM-19 Jupiter|Jupiter IRBM]] test on an adjacent pad failed shortly after liftoff, causing flying debris to hit Explorer 7's launch vehicle. However, the damage to the booster was minor and could be easily repaired.

Explorer 7 was launched on a [[Juno II]] at 15:31 [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]] on 13 October 1959 from the [[Eastern Range|Atlantic Missile Range]] into a {{cvt|573|xx|1073|km}} orbit. On 16 June 1960, NASA announced one of the four frequency modulated subcarriers on the second transmitter had become erratic and the information it was transmitting on 3 of the 7 experiments was no longer intelligible. The tracking beacon ceased transmitting on 5 December 1959. As of September 1960 the orbit was {{cvt|554|xx|1083|km}} with an [[Orbital inclination|inclination]] of 50.3° and a [[Orbital period|period]] of 101.2 minutes. Useful real-time data were transmitted from launch through February 1961 and intermittently until 24 August 1961. The spacecraft provided significant geophysical information on radiation and magnetic storms, demonstrated methods of controlling internal temperatures, recorded the first micrometeorite penetration of a sensor in flight, and detected large scale weather patterns.<ref name="Display"/>