Q: What happened to ERS 3 during its launch?

A: ERS 3 failed to reach orbit after its Atlas-Agena B rocket exploded approximately 2 minutes after liftoff on December 17, 1962, destroying the satellite.

Q: What was the purpose of the ERS 3 mission?

A: ERS 3 was designed to test experimental technologies as part of the U.S. Air Force’s research satellite program, focusing on technology demonstration and scientific research.

Q: What type of rocket was used to launch ERS 3?

A: The satellite was launched on an Atlas-Agena B expendable launch system, a rocket configuration used for various U.S. space missions in the 1960s.

ERS 3

U.S. Air Force technology research satellite

Vehicle Research Satellite Q112894982

Facts

8 properties

Instance of: research satellite, technology demonstration spacecraft, former entity^[2]^[3]
Launch date: 1962-12-17
Dissolved, abolished or demolished: December 17, 1962^[5]
Dissolved, abolished or demolished date: 1962-12-17
Launch vehicle: Atlas-Agena B
Space launch vehicle: Atlas-Agena B^[4]
Start point: Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 3 East^[7]
UTC date of spacecraft launch: December 17, 1962^[6]

🏷️ Also known as

en Environmental Research Satellite 3 en ERS 3 en Tetrahedral Research Satellite 3 en TRS 3

🔖 Identifiers · 1

NSSDCA ID: ERS3

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🔗 Connections

Instance of 3

research satellite, technology demonstration spacecraft, former entity

Space launch vehicle 1

Atlas-Agena B

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Summary

ERS 3 is a research satellite^[1].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ ERS 3 — instance of (P31): technology demonstration spacecraft. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ ERS 3 — instance of (P31): former entity. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ ERS 3 — space launch vehicle (P375): Atlas-Agena B. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ ERS 3 — dissolved, abolished or demolished date (P576): December 17, 1962. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ ERS 3 — UTC date of spacecraft launch (P619): December 17, 1962. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ ERS 3 — start point (P1427): Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 3 East. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

[1] ↑ ERS 3 is an instance of research satellite (Q105839698) [P31, primary]. Wikidata. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). ERS 3. Retrieved May 3, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/ers-3

MLA “ERS 3.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 3 May. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/ers-3.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_ers-3_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{ERS 3}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/ers-3}, note = {Accessed: 2026-05-03}}

LLM prompt

According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): ERS 3 — https://4ort.xyz/entity/ers-3 (retrieved 2026-05-03)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/ers-3 · Last refreshed: May 3, 2026