Editing Ranger 5 (section)

==Spacecraft design==

Ranger 5 was a Block II Ranger spacecraft similar to [[Ranger 3]] and [[Ranger 4]]. The basic vehicle was 3.1 m high and consisted of a lunar capsule covered with a balsawood impact-limiter, 65&nbsp;cm in diameter, a mono-propellant mid-course motor, a retrorocket with a thrust of {{convert|5080|lbf|kN|abbr=on}}, and a gold and chrome plated hexagonal base 1.5 m in diameter. A large high-gain dish antenna was attached to the base. Two wing-like solar panels (5.2 m across) were attached to the base and deployed early in the flight. Power was generated by 8680 solar cells contained in the solar panels which charged an 11.5&nbsp;kg 1 kWh capacity AgZn launching and backup battery. Spacecraft control was provided by a solid-state digital computer and sequencer and an Earth-controlled command system. Attitude control was provided by six Sun and one Earth sensor, [[gyroscope]]s, and pitch and roll cold [[nitrogen]] gas jets. The telemetry system aboard the spacecraft consisted of two 960&nbsp;MHz transmitters, one at 3 W power output and the other at 50&nbsp;mW power output, the high-gain antenna, and an omnidirectional antenna. White paint, gold and chrome plating, and a silvered plastic sheet encasing the retrorocket furnished thermal control.<ref name=nssdc1/>

The experimental apparatus included: (1) a vidicon television camera, which employed a scan mechanism that yielded one complete frame in 10 s; (2) a gamma-ray spectrometer in a 300&nbsp;mm sphere mounted on a 1.8 m boom; (3) a radar altimeter; and (4) a seismometer to be rough-landed on the lunar surface. The seismometer was encased in the lunar capsule along with an amplifier, a 50&nbsp;mW transmitter, voltage control, a [[turnstile antenna]], and six silver-cadmium batteries capable of operating the lunar capsule transmitter for 30 days, all designed to land on the Moon at {{convert|130|to|160|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}. The instrument package floated in a layer of freon within the balsawood sphere. The radar altimeter would be used for reflectivity studies, but was also designed to initiate capsule separation and ignite the retro-rocket.<ref name=nssdc1/>