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Ariel 1

Scale model of Ariel 1 satellite, London Science Museum
Names	1962 Omicron 1, Ariel1, S 51, UK1
Mission type	Ionospheric
Operator	SERC / NASA
Harvard designation	1962 Omicron 1
COSPAR ID	1962-015A
SATCAT no.	285
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Goddard Space Flight Center
Launch mass	62 kilograms (137 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	26 April 1962, 18:00:00 (1962-04-26UTC18Z) 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
ArielAriel 2 →

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.

Development

In late 1959, the British National Committee for Space Research proposed the development of Ariel 1 to NASA. By early the following year the two countries had decided upon terms for the Ariel programme's scope and which organisations would be responsible for which parts of the programme.

The UK Minister of Science named the satellite after the sprite in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Three units were constructed: one for prototyping, a flight unit, and a backup.

Design

Operation

The satellite weighed 62 kilograms (136 lb), had a diameter of 58 centimetres (23 in), and a height of 56 centimetres (22 in). Solar panels generated power which was stored in nickel-cadmium batteries. A 100-minute tape recorder was used for data collection.

Sensors

SERC provided the experiments, conducted operations, and later analysed and interpreted the results. Six experiments were carried aboard the satellite. Five of these examined the relationship between two types of solar radiation and changes in the Earth's ionosphere. They were selected to leverage techniques developed in the Skylark programme.

Mission

Launch

Ariel 1 was planned to launch on the Scout rocket, but the rocket fell behind in development. The decision was made to launch the satellite on the more expensive Thor-Delta rocket, although the Americans footed the bill.

Ariel 1, the first satellite from a nation besides the United States or the Soviet Union, was launched aboard an American Thor-Delta rocket from Launch Complex 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, at 18:00:00 GMT on 26 April 1962. The successful orbit made Ariel 1 the first international satellite.

Operations

Ariel 1 was among several satellites inadvertently damaged or destroyed by the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test on July 9, 1962, and subsequent radiation belt. Its solar panels sustained damage from the irradiation, affecting Ariel 1's operations. The satellite operated even after the nuclear test. The radiation disabled the timer that would have deactivated the satellite after one year, effectively extending the satellite's life. It decayed from orbit on 24 May 1976.

Results

The experiments provided X-ray energy data from over 20 solar flares.

Notes

1. ^ "Ariel 1". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
2. Wells, Whiteley & Karegeannes 1976, p. 171.
3. McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
4. NASA SP-43 1963, p. 1.
5. Rosenthal 1968, pp. 106–107.
6. Wells, Whiteley & Karegeannes 1976, pp. 35–36.
7. NASA SP-119 1996, p. 3.
8. Rosenthal 1968, p. 105.
9. NASA SP-119 1996, p. 9.
10. ^ Harvey 2003, p. 97.
11. "Ariel 1 Launch/Orbital Information". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
12. Walker, Doreen M. C. "Analysis of the Orbit of Ariel 1, 1962 – ISA, Near 15th – Order Resonance" (PDF). Royal Aircraft Establishment. p. 107. A-002 347. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 March 2020.
13. Galvan et al. 2014, p. 19.
14. Table of Artificial Satellites Launched Between 1957 and 1976. International Telecommunication Union. 1977. p. 15. OCLC 4907282. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
15. "40 years ago: 1st international satellite" (PDF). Spaceport News. Vol. 41, no. 8. Kennedy Space Center. 19 April 2002.

References

• Ariel I: the First International Satellite. Washington, D.C.: NASA. 1963. SP-43.
• Dorling, E. (1993). "Ariel 1 and the Beginnings of British Space Science". The Observatory. 113: 250. Bibcode:1993Obs...113..250D.
• Ariel I: the First International Satellite: Experimental Results. Washington, D.C.: NASA. 1966. SP-119.
• Dorling, E. B.; Robins, M. O. (1964). "United Kingdom Activities". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences. 281 (1387): 445–450. Bibcode:1964RSPSA.281..445D. doi:10.1098/rspa.1964.0195. ISSN 0080-4630. JSTOR 2414955. S2CID 154796264.
• Galvan, David A.; Hemenway, Brett; Welser, William; Baiocchi, Dave (2014). Satellite Anomalies. Benefits of a Centralized Anomaly Database and Methods for Securely Sharing Information Among Satellite Operators. RAND Corporation. pp. 7–28. ISBN 978-0-8330-8586-3. JSTOR 10.7249/j.ctt14bs1m1.9.
• Harvey, Brian (2003). Europe's Space Programme: To Ariane and Beyond. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-1-85233-722-3.
• Rosenthal, Alfred (1968). Venture into Space – Early Years of Goddard Space Flight Center (PDF). NASA Center History Series. Washington D.C.: NASA. SP-4301.
• Wells, Helen T.; Whiteley, Susan H.; Karegeannes, Carrie (1976). Origins of NASA Names (PDF). NASA History Series. Washington, D.C.: NASA. SP-4402.

External links

• "Ariel 1". Space.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012.
• The Cold War nuke that fried satellites (BBC)
• The Ariel 1 Satellite
• First International Satellite
• Electronic Integration of the UK-1 International Ionsphere Satellite
• Special issue: 50 years of the UK in space
• The Royal Society's Formative Role in UK Space Research
• The Ariel 1 Satellite

• Spacecraft launched in 1962
• United Kingdom–United States relations
• Satellites formerly orbiting Earth
• First artificial satellites of a country
• Satellites of the United Kingdom