[3] Explorer 46 was designed to provide data on the frequency and penetration energy of meteoroids and micrometeoroids in low Earth orbit.

Meteoroid impacts were detected and measured using bumper panels that extended after launch and gave the satellite a windmill-like appearance.

A set of capacitor detectors recorded over two thousand micrometeoroid hits over the same period.

[1] The objective of this experiment was to measure the meteoroid penetration rates of a bumper-protected target.

Due to a spacecraft malfunction, this experiment had to be turned off two weeks after launch, but it had already recorded 2000 micrometeoroid impacts by that time.