Vanguard 1 satellite

E15283

American spacecraft Earth satellite artificial satellite research satellite

Vanguard 1 satellite is an early American artificial Earth satellite launched in 1958 that became the fourth human-made object in space and the oldest still in orbit, used primarily for geophysical and atmospheric research.

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Observed surface forms (4)

Surface form	Occurrences
Vanguard 1	6
Project Vanguard	1
Vanguard I	1
Vanguard satellites	1

Statements (52)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	American spacecraft ⓘ Earth satellite ⓘ artificial satellite ⓘ research satellite ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	1958 Beta 2 ⓘ Vanguard 1 satellite ⓘ surface form: Vanguard I
communicationStatus	no longer transmitting ⓘ
cosparId	1958-002B ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
diameter	16.5 centimeters ⓘ
dryMass	1.47 kilograms ⓘ
launchComplex	LC-18A ⓘ
launchDate	1958-03-17 ⓘ
launchSite	Cape Canaveral ⓘ surface form: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Cape Canaveral ⓘ surface form: Cape Canaveral, Florida
launchVehicle	Vanguard TV-4 ⓘ
launchYear	1958 ⓘ
manufacturer	Naval Research Laboratory ⓘ
mass	1.47 kilograms ⓘ
notableFor	first satellite to use solar cells for power ⓘ fourth human-made object in space ⓘ oldest human-made satellite still in orbit ⓘ
nssdcId	1958-002B ⓘ
operator	Naval Research Laboratory ⓘ United States Navy ⓘ
orbitalPeriod	about 134 minutes ⓘ
orbitApogee	about 3,800 kilometers ⓘ
orbitInclination	about 34.25 degrees ⓘ
orbitPerigee	about 650 kilometers ⓘ
orbitType	low Earth orbit ⓘ
partOf	Vanguard 1 satellite self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Project Vanguard
powerSource	batteries ⓘ solar cells ⓘ
precededBy	Explorer 1 ⓘ Sputnik 1 ⓘ Sputnik 2 ⓘ
program	Vanguard program ⓘ
purpose	atmospheric research ⓘ geophysical research ⓘ ionospheric research ⓘ measuring atmospheric drag ⓘ testing solar cell power in space ⓘ tracking Earth’s shape ⓘ
shape	sphere ⓘ
signalEndDate	1964 ⓘ
spacecraftBus	Vanguard series ⓘ
status	in orbit ⓘ
usedFor	mapping Earth’s gravitational field ⓘ refining Earth’s geodetic shape ⓘ studying upper atmosphere density ⓘ
usesCommunicationBand	108.00 MHz ⓘ 108.03 MHz ⓘ

Referenced by (10)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Vanguard 1 satellite → alsoKnownAs → Vanguard 1 satellite ⓘ

subject surface form: Vanguard 1

this entity surface form: Vanguard I

1958 Beta 2 → alternativeName → Vanguard 1 satellite ⓘ