Oldest surviving artificial Earth satellite,turned 50
March 27th 2008 06:53
Earth satellite, Vanguard 1
The oldest surviving artificial satellite has turned 50 years old and still in orbit around Earth. Launched at the start of the Space Age, The little spacecraft that could is in a high orbit that promises to be stable for centuries. It has outlived almost all of the humans who created it. This spacecraft redeemed itself after the failed launch of its predecessor. Vanguard 1 was fortunate to be placed in higher orbit at the time where it will continue to orbit earth for years to come.
The satellite already has completed more than 197,000 Earth orbits, clocking up more than 10 billion kilometers of travel. Only the Pioneer and Voyager probes, currently speeding away on the edge of the solar system, have gone farther.
Vanguard 1's current orbit ranges from 653 to 3,839 kilometers in altitude, and has dropped only around 100 kilometers in the past fifty years. The satellite completes one orbit of the Earth every 133 minutes. Chances are that it may survive another half century. Vanguard 1 was the first artificial earth satellite powered by solar cells. Vanguard 1 provided valuable information on Earth's size and shape.
Tracking its orbit helped geophysicists realise that Earth is not round but slightly pumpkin shaped, with a slight, symmetric equatorial bulge. The 1.5-kilogram, 16.3-centimeter-wide sphere was so small in comparison with Sputnik and Sputnik 2 that Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev referred to Vanguard 1 as a "grapefruit satellite.
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Comment by Nomad
Awesome Food
Nomad (awesome dude)
Comment by CarlCan
Astro Earth
Thanks, yes a bit of a milestone.
At least this satelite wont be crashing to Earth anytime soon!!
CC