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Orbital elements based on amateur observations
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| 1959 - Launches to Orbit and Beyond
Listed are launches, irrespective of outcome, that were irretrievably committed to flight towards orbit or intended to accelerate the payload to escape velocity. The following notes should help with understanding the launch lists.
Launch times are in UTC and are from the launching agency or estimated by 'walking back' along the ground track to the launch site.
Most orbit data and decay information comes from SpaceTrack but it occasionally contains inconsistencies (eg - incorrect re-entry dates or early sets of elements allocated to the wrong object) that need to be corrected from other sources.
To fill the gaps where elements are not formally published, usually because they have a classification of "Secret", some orbits are based on amateur observations using visual and radio techniques. Such data is published near-daily by Mike McCants, and the source observations along with observers' derived orbits can often be found in the web-based Seesat-L discussion group. Occasionally, early orbit data are published by satellite owners. In extreme cases, orbits are estimated from public data.
Space-Track occasionally fails to allocate names to objects in its catalogue. The SATNOGS online database of radio observations sometimes provides pointers to which Catalogue Number belongs to a satellite being tracked by its contributors.
Apogee and perigee are measured against a spherical Earth situated at the focus of the orbital ellipse and with a radius of 6378.145 km. Shown is the Anomalistic Period, or time to complete one circuit of the ellipse. It is not the same as the time taken to complete one circuit of the Earth. Care should be exercised when comparing with other published orbits because they may have been derived using a different model.
1959-001 Vostok-L 8K72
Baikonur Cosmodrome | 1959 Jan 2, 16:41 | Luna 1 (E-1 №4) 1959 μ1 112 |
in space
|
| Instrumented lunar spacecraft with instruments to measure radiation charged particles, micrometeoroids and cosmic rays in interplanetary space Launched onto direct ascent trajectory aimed at hitting the Moon. A small error in its trajectory meant it missed the Moon by about 9500 km and entered heliocentric orbit with a fifteen month period. The catalogue entry is out of sequence because it was allocated retrospectively when the system was firmed-up to include missions on escape trajectory. It was catalogued retrospectively late-1960. |
| Heliocentric orbit | |
1959-002 Vanguard (SLV-4)
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1959 Feb 17, 15:55 | |
in space
|
| Scientific satellite to study the Earth's cloud cover. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1959 Jun 19, 18:24 | 8315 | 0.1651 | 564 | 3309 | 125.76 | 32.88 | 58 | | | |
1959-003 Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1959 Feb 28, 21:49 | Discoverer 1 (Corona) 1959 β1 13 |
Re-entered - 1959 Mar 3
Life 3 days
|
| Prototype US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Uncertain that it actually reached orbit but it was nevertheless catalogued on the basis of reported reception of radio signals from what was assumed to be a tumbling satellite.. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
|
1959-004 Juno II
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1959 Mar 3, 05:10 | |
in space
|
| Lunar flyby spacecraft that then went into heliocentric orbit. The payload included radiation monitoring sensors and a lunar photography experiment. It passed within 60,000 km of the Moon's surface but not close enough to trigger the camera. It was catalogued retrospectively late-1960, hence the out-of-sequence number. |
| Heliocentric orbit | |
1959-005 Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1959 Apr 13, 21:18 | Discoverer 2 (Corona/KH-1) 1959 γ1 14 |
Re-entered - 1959 Apr 26
Life 13 days
|
| Prototype US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Retrieval of film was unsuccessful - the re-entry vehicle was lost when the timer controlling retro-fire malfunctioned and it overshot the recovery area near Hawaii. Though to have landed near Spitzbergen, Norway but never found. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1959 Apr 13, 21:26 | 6670 | 0.0079 | 239 | 345 | 90.36 | 89.91 | 155 | | | |
1959-F01 - failed to reach orbit Vanguard (SLV-5)
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1959 Apr 14, 02:49 | |
|
| Scientific satellite to study electrical currents in the Earth's magnetic field and upper air density. Second stage separation was at the wrong attitude so the vehicle was deliberately destroyed. |
|
1959-F02 - failed to reach orbit Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1959 Jun 3, 20:09 | Discoverer 3 (CoronaCorona/KH-1) |
|
| Prototype US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. First and second stages of the launch vehicle both fired but the satellite probably did not reach orbit. |
|
1959-F06 - failed to reach orbit Vostok-L 8K72
Baikonur Cosmodrome | 1959 Jun 18, 08:08 | |
|
| Instrumented lunar spacecraft on direct ascent trajectory aimed at hitting the Moon. Failure of the launch vehicle inertial guidance system 153 seconds after lift-off led to the rocket being deliberately destroyed |
|
1959-F03 - failed to reach orbit Vanguard (SLV-6)
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1959 Jun 22, 20:16 | |
|
| Scientific satellite to study solar radiation, radiation reflected from the Earth and long-wave radiation originating from the Earth. Second stage of the launch vehicle exploded. |
|
1959-F04 - failed to reach orbit Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1959 Jun 25, 22:47 | Discoverer 4 (Corona 9001/KH-1) |
|
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. First and second stages of the launch vehicle both fired but the satellite probably did not gain sufficient velocity to reach orbit. |
|
1959-F05 - failed to reach orbit Juno II
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1959 Jul 16, 17:37 | |
|
| Scientific satellite with a cluster of instruments to measure micrometeroroid impacts, radiation and cosmic rays. Two materials experiments were to measure the satellite's temperature and erosion of a solar cell mounted on its surface. Launch vehicle control lost 5s after lift-off. Destroyed by Range Safety. |
|
1959-006 Thor Able III
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1959 Aug 7, 14:24 | Explorer 6 (S-2) 1959 δ1 15 |
Re-entered - 1961 Jun 30
Life 693 days
|
| Satellite designed to study trapped radiation around the Earth, galactic cosmic rays, geomagnetism, radio propagation in the upper atmosphere, and the flux of micrometeorites. It also tested a scanning imager designed for photographing the Earth's cloud cover, and transmitted the first pictures of Earth from orbit. Solar panels failed to deploy fully. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1959 Aug 08, 15:50 | 27739 | 0.7609 | 254 | 42467 | 766.28 | 46.95 | 36 | | | |
1959-007 Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1959 Aug 13, 19:00 | Discoverer 5 (Corona 9002/KH-1) 1959 ε1 18 |
Re-entered - 1959 Sep 28
Life 46 days
|
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Incorrect retro-rocket alignment caused the re-enty vehicle to enter a higher orbit rather than re-entering. Re-entry date shown is for satellite main body, the re-entry vehicle remained in orbit for a few more days. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1959 Aug 14, 08:33 | 6852 | 0.0377 | 215 | 732 | 94.07 | 80.00 | 155 | | | |
1959-F07 - failed to reach orbit Juno II
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1959 Aug 15, 00:31 | |
|
| High visibility balloon of 3.5m diameter to be used as a visual target for air density measurement and serve as a radar target. Lost as result of the launch vehicle depleting its propellant with insufficient velocity to reach orbit. |
|
1959-008 Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1959 Aug 19, 19:24 | Discoverer 6 (Corona 9003/KH-1) 1959 ζ1 19 |
Re-entered - 1959 Oct 20
Life 62 days
|
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Re-entry veicle not tracked after anticipated retro-fire and was not recovered. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1959 Aug 20, 10:43 | 6905 | 0.0463 | 208 | 846 | 95.18 | 84.00 | 140 | | | |
1959-009 Vostok-L 8K72
Baikonur Cosmodrome | 1959 Sep 12, 06:39 | Luna 2 (E-1 №6) 1959 ξ1 114 |
Re-entered - 1959 Sep 13
Life 1 day
|
| Instrumented lunar spacecraft with instruments to measure radiation charged particles, micrometeoroids and cosmic rays in interplanetary space Launched onto direct ascent trajectory aimed at hitting the Moon. Destroyed on successful Lunar impact 1959 September 13 at 21:02:24 UTC. The catalogue entry is out of sequence because it was allocated retrospectively when the system was firmed-up to include missions on escape trajectory. It was catalogued late-1960 |
| |
1959-F08 - failed to reach orbit Thor Able II
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1959 Sep 17, 14:34 | |
|
| First generation, experimental navigation satellite, lost when the launch vehicle third stage failed. |
|
1959-010 Vanguard (TV-4BU)
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1959 Sep 18, 05:20 | |
in space
|
| Scientific satellite with a magnetometer and x-ray sensors. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1959 Sep 18, 04:48 | 8517 | 0.1900 | 520 | 3757 | 130.37 | 33.34 | 134 | | | |
1959-011 Vostok-L 8K72
Baikonur Cosmodrome | 1959 Oct 4, 00:43 | |
Re-entered - 1960 Apr 20
Life 199 days
|
| Lunar spacecraft equipped with imaging system on direct ascent trajectory. Starting Nov 7 at 03:30 UTC, over a period of 40 minutes, it took 29 photographs of the hidden side of the Moon from an altitude of 65,200 km. Film was developed automatically aboard the spacecraft and then scanned to allow radio transmission of the images. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1959 Oct 05, 02:19 | 256627 | 0.9732 | 500 | 499998 | 21563.22 | 55.00 | 45 | | | |
1959-012 Juno II
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1959 Oct 13, 15:30 | Explorer 7 (S-1A) 1959 ι1 22 |
in space
|
| Scientific satellite with a cluster of instruments to measure micrometeroroid impacts, radiation and cosmic rays. Two materials experiments measured the satellite's temperature and erosion of a solar cell mounted on its surface. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1959 Oct 17, 03:49 | 7203 | 0.0368 | 560 | 1090 | 101.40 | 50.27 | 67 | | | |
1959-013 Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1959 Nov 7, 20:28 | Discoverer 7 (Corona 9004/KH-1) 1959 κ1 24 |
Re-entered - 1959 Nov 26
Life 19 days
|
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Re-entry capsule separation mechanism became disabled so re-entry attempt was not possible and the whole vehicle eventually re-entered naturally through air drag. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1959 Nov 08, 19:32 | 6868 | 0.0482 | 159 | 821 | 94.41 | 81.64 | 162 | | | |
1959-014 Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1959 Nov 20, 19:25 | Discoverer 8 (Corona 9005/KH-1) 1959 λ1 25 |
Re-entered - 1960 Mar 8
Life 109 days
|
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Orbit was more eccentric than anticipated. The stabilisation system for re-entry did not cope adequately with the incorrect orbit and the re-entry vehicle was lost when it overshot the Hawaii landing zone. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1959 Nov 20, 20:32 | 7303 | 0.1005 | 191 | 1659 | 103.51 | 80.60 | 156 | | | |
1959-F09 - failed to reach orbit Atlas-Able
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1959 Nov 26, 07:26 | |
|
| Lunar orbiter equipped with an imaging sytem, a micrometeoroid detector and a magnetometer. It was lost when the launch vehicle payload shroud detached after 46 seconds and the second stage was disbled as a result of wind buffeting. Impacted downrange after the first stage completed its firing. Pioneer P-3 was originally built as Pioneer P-1 but that launch vehicle was destroyed on the pad by an explosion 1959 Sep 24. At the time Pioneer P-1 was not attached to the rocket. |
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