Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Repeat orbit: An orbit where the ground track of the satellite repeats after a period of time. Gangale orbit: a solar orbit near Mars whose period is one Martian year, but whose eccentricity and inclination both differ from that of Mars such that a relay satellite in a Gangale orbit is visible from Earth even during solar conjunction. [28]
First satellite in orbit. [5] USSR 4 October 1957 Earth: Sputnik 2: First animal in orbit, Laika, a dog. USSR 3 November 1957 Earth: Vanguard 1: Oldest satellite still in orbit, in addition to its upper launch stage. Expected to stay in orbit 240 years. Ceased transmission in May 1964. USA 17 March 1958 Earth: Pioneer 1
It may also refer to the time it takes a satellite orbiting a planet or moon to complete one orbit. For celestial objects in general, the orbital period is determined by a 360° revolution of one body around its primary, e.g. Earth around the Sun. Periods in astronomy are expressed in units of time, usually hours, days, or years.
Year Date Origin Name Launch vehicle Status Description Mass 1957 October 4 Soviet Union: Sputnik 1: Sputnik-PS: Success: The first human-made object to orbit Earth. 83.6 kg (183.9 lb) November 3 Soviet Union: Sputnik 2: Sputnik-PS: Success: The first satellite to carry a living animal, a dog named Laika. 508 kg (1,118 lb) December 6 US ...
The previous record of people in orbit was set in May 2023, when for a brief period of time there were 17 people aboard both the International Space Station and China’s Tiangong space station ...
For a satellite to be in a stable orbit (i.e. sustainable for more than a few months), 350 km is a more standard altitude for low Earth orbit. For example, on 1 February 1958 the Explorer 1 satellite was launched into an orbit with a perigee of 358 kilometers (222 mi). [5]
The LST zones show how the local time beneath the satellite varies at different latitudes and different points on its orbit. Special cases of the Sun-synchronous orbit are the noon/midnight orbit, where the local mean solar time of passage for equatorial latitudes is around noon or midnight, and the dawn/dusk orbit, where the local mean solar ...
First spacecraft to orbit one of the Moon's Lagrange point (L2). USA (NASA) ARTEMIS-P1 [62] 22 October 2010: First spacecraft to orbit the Moon's Lagrange 1 point. USA (NASA) ARTEMIS-P2 [62] 18 March 2011: First orbit of Mercury. USA (NASA) MESSENGER: 16 July 2011: First orbit of an object in the asteroid belt . USA (NASA) Dawn: 6 August 2012