 Scale model of Ariel 1 satellite, London Science Museum | |
| Names | 1962 Omicron 1, Ariel1, S 51, UK1 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Ionospheric |
| Operator | SERC / NASA[1] |
| Harvard designation | 1962 Omicron 1[2] |
| COSPAR ID | 1962-015A |
| SATCAT no. | 285[1] |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Goddard Space Flight Center |
| Launch mass | 62 kilograms (137 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 26 April 1962, 18:00:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Thor DM-19 Delta |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-17A |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | July 9, 1962 |
| Decay date | 24 May 1976 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Eccentricity | 0.0561326957 |
| Perigee altitude | 397 kilometres (247 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 1,202 kilometres (747 mi) |
| Inclination | 53.8 degrees |
| Period | 100.86 minutes |
| Epoch | 14 June 1962[3] |
Ariel 1 (also known as UK-1 and S-55), was the first British-American satellite, and the first satellite in the Ariel programme. Its launch in 1962 made the United Kingdom the third country to operate a satellite, after the Soviet Union and the United States. It was constructed in the UK and the United States by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and SERC, under an agreement reached as the result of political discussions in 1959 and 1960. The US Starfish Prime exoatmospheric nuclear test affected Ariel 1's operational capability.
- ^ a b "Ariel 1". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ Wells, Whiteley & Karegeannes 1976, p. 171.
- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 6 December 2013.