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Explorer-1 Prime
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<p>Explorer-1 [Prime], also known as E1P and Electra, was a <a href="/facts/CubeSat/jL2IpYKd">CubeSat</a>-class <a href="/facts/Picosatellite/vXN5EwvX">picosatellite</a> built by the Space Science and Engineering Laboratory (SSEL) at <a href="/facts/Montana_State_University_-_Bozeman/2c8pVBCj">Montana State University</a>. It was launched aboard a <a href="/facts/Minotaur-C/XQDB2hca">Taurus-XL</a> rocket from <a href="/facts/Vandenberg_Air_Force_Base/CHNed3F4">Vandenberg Air Force Base</a>, <a href="/facts/California/zLW2vdQJ">California</a> on 4 March 2011, but failed to achieve orbit after the rocket malfunctioned. </p><p>As part of NASA's ELaNA program, E1P was to be launched along with NASA's <a href="/facts/Glory_(satellite)/fxWhHGVq">Glory</a> satellite, the <a href="/facts/Kentucky_Space/tXn4r72X">Kentucky Space</a> <a href="/facts/KySat-1/h42tSjcs">KySat-1</a> and the <a href="/facts/University_of_Colorado_Boulder/SzsmJFb7">University of Colorado Boulder</a> <a href="/facts/Hermes_(satellite)/ceo82Ryw">Hermes</a> CubeSats. </p><p>E1P was a re-flight mission of <i><a href="/facts/Explorer_1/m4jWb1A0">Explorer 1</a></i>, the first <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">American</a> satellite, using modern technology including a <a href="/facts/Geiger%25E2%2580%2593M%25C3%25BCller_tube/RK67ylYg">Geiger tube</a> donated by <a href="/facts/James_Van_Allen/Irnymako">James Van Allen</a>. The name of the satellite was also adopted from Van Allen, who referred to the satellite as <i>Explorer-1 Prime</i> prior to his death in 2006. </p><p>It was originally intended to be launched in 2008 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the launch of <i>Explorer 1</i>. If it had been successful, E1P would have been Montana's first successful launch of a satellite after the loss of SSEL's MEROPE in 2006. </p><p>There was a spare, <a href="/facts/Explorer-1_Prime_Unit_2/tuhSgtw6">Explorer-1 Prime Unit 2</a>, that was launched with <a href="/facts/Suomi_NPP/LSDxT28K">NPP</a>. </p><p>The Michigan Exploration Laboratory (MXL) suspects that the M-Cubed CubeSat, a joint project run by MXL and JPL, became magnetically conjoined to Explorer-1 Prime Unit 2, a second CubeSat released at the same time, via strong onboard magnets used for passive attitude control (see: <a href="/facts/Magnetorquer/oNkUX0wf">Magnetorquer</a>), after deploying on October 28, 2011. This is the first non-destructive latching of two satellites. </p>