Ranger 3

2023-08-20T12:39:21Z

OckRaz: /* Notes */

{{Ship Data
|type=Deep Space Probe
|propol=Chemical rockets
|race=Terran, [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] (c. [[1987]] CE)
|introduced=[[Awakening]]
|crew=1 person
|cap=1 person
|co=Capt. {{buck}}
}}

'''''Ranger 3''''' (also known as Flight 711<ref>When {{buck}} attempts to reach out to [[Houston Control]], he refers to his flight thusly.</ref>) is the space shuttle probe used by Captain [[William Rogers|William "Buck" Rogers]] for his six month exploration of the Solar System in [[1987]].

An unforeseen malfunction aboard results in ''Ranger 3'' going off-course, while freezing its life-support systems and preserving Rogers. ''Ranger 3''{{'|s}} trajectory takes him outside of the Solar System on a trip that returns him to [[Earth]] in the year [[2491]]—over 500 years {{BR25|Film|Awakening|The Guardians|Testimony of a Traitor}}.

A [[Draconian]] [[Hatchet fighter]] intercepts and recovers ''Ranger 3'' on its return trajectory, and by the order of Princess [[Ardala]] reanimate Rogers, hoping to use him in their plans to conquer Earth. After debriefing him, the Draconians send him towards Earth unawares of his interception. He heads to Earth, and his communications are received by Earth's [[Delta Sector]] tracking controller and, subsequently, Col. [[Wilma Deering]] and her squadron intercept ''Ranger 3'', bringing him through the narrow security corridor to the [[Inner Cities]] for capture and interrogation {{BR25|Film|Awakening}}.

== Notes ==

* During its mission to locate missing [[Earth]] colonies, ''[[Searcher]]'' used a [[Searcher shuttle|shuttle]] design which appeared to be based on Ranger 3. Compared to the original, the new craft was missing its tail-fin, and had it's wings reconfigured, with the ends swept upwards. In addition, the interior was configured to hold passengers and/or cargo.
* The [[w:Ranger program|Ranger series spacecraft]] were unmanned lunar landers, and the [[w:National Aeronautics and Space Administration|National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] never repeats project names to avoid confusion.
* Further, no shuttle missions were launched in 1987 due to the [[w:Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]] of January 28, 1986. [[w:List of Space Shuttle missions|Space shuttle missions]] resumed on September 29, 1988 with space shuttle ''[[w:Space Shuttle Discovery|Discovery]]''.

== References ==

{{reflist}}

[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category: Buck Rogers in the 25th Century]]
[[Category: Ships]]

Buck Wiki - User contributions [en]

Ranger 3