Sputnik 1

This competition gained public attention with the “Sputnik shock”, when the USSR achieved the first successful artificial satellite launch on October 4, 1957 of Sputnik 1, and subsequently when the USSR sent the first human to space with the orbital flight of Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961.

the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

The Vanguard 1 satellite is still up there and is the oldest human-made object in space. Other early satellites – such as Sputnik 1, the first satellite to leave Earth in 1957, and Explorer 1, the first US satellite – have long since re-entered the atmosphere and burnt up.

But a lifespan of a few years is nothing compared to Earth’s oldest satellite: Vanguard 1. As America’s second satellite, it was launched into space on March 17, 1958. And though it only blasted off some six months after the Soviet’s Sputnik satellite, Vanuguard 1 still remains in orbit — more than 60 years later.

The U.S. Navy’s test of Vanguard rocket, along with its satellite payload, went hopelessly awry when the rocket failed to develop sufficient thrust and toppled over on the launch pad. The malfunctioning first stage caused vehicle to lose thrust after two seconds.

After its scientific mission ended in 1964, Vanguard 1 became a derelict object — just like the upper stage of the rocket used to launch the satellite had after it finished the delta-v maneuver to place Vanguard 1 in orbit in 1958. Until otherwise noted, both objects remain in orbit.

Vanguard 1 (1958 Beta 2) was a small Earth-orbiting satellite designed to test the launch capabilities of a three-stage launch vehicle and the effects of the environment on a satellite and its systems in Earth orbit. It also was used to obtain geodetic measurements through orbit analysis.

AMSAT-OSCAR 7

Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin

Voyager 1 is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus.

between 5 and 15 years

There have been no observed collisions between natural satellites of any Solar System planet or moon. Collision candidates for past events are: The objects making up the Rings of Saturn are believed to continually collide and aggregate with each other, leading to debris with limited size constrained to a thin plane.

104 satellites

the United States

Of the 3,372 active artificial satellites orbiting the Earth as of January 1, 2021, 1,897 belong to the United States. This is by far the largest number of any single country, with their nearest competitor, China, accounting for only 412.

Following is a transcript of the video. You’re looking at 60 satellites hurtling into the sky. And over the next few decades, Elon Musk is hoping to send 42,000 of these satellites to space, 15 times the number of operational satellites in orbit today.

5G has an advantage over Starlink in terms of reliable service, because it’s built on top of existing cellular infrastructure. For mmWave 5G you need more towers because the higher-frequency speed travels at much shorter distances.

So, whether you see the Starlink satellites depends not only on light conditions, but also which Starlink satellites are overhead. Earlier this month, SpaceX said they have received more than 500,000 orders for Starlink service which is still in beta and not yet available everywhere.

America Forward. He said satellites can be seen during twilight, early evening and really late at night right before morning twilight when satellites in low orbits can be seen.

If they break SpaceX simulation estimates them to decay in about 5 years. I give you two graphs for Tintins (two experimental Starlink satellites launched in Feb 2018): average height above Earth and apogee & perigee of Tintin B.