Launch Date
October 26, 1973
Launch Site
Launch Pad
LC17B
Launch Vehicle
Delta 1604
NORAD ID
06895
International Designator
1973-078C
Decay Date
11/29/1996
Name
DELTA 1 R/B(1)
Alternative Name
Delta 97
Type
Status
Owner
GSFC
Country
United States
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
Length
4.8
Diameter
1.4
Span
4.8
Dry Mass
1150
Launch Mass
1150
Shape
Cyl + Nozzle
Radar Cross Section
9.2265
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
Delta DSV-3E-5
Purpose
Unknown
Mission
Unknown
Manufacturer
AJ
Life Expectancy
Unknown
Bus
DSV-3E-5
Configuration
Unknown
Motor
AJ10-118F
Equipment
Unknown
Power System
Unknown
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
Learn more about satellites and other related topics.
Today's key topics include the halting of the U.S. Air Force's rocket landing pad plans, the Space Force's shift to a flexible satellite strategy, delays in Australia's Eris 1 rocket launch, and the controversial cut of satellite sea-ice data to climate scientists.
SpaceX successfully launched 24 Starlink satellites from California, enhancing its global internet coverage as the company continues to dominate the satellite communications market.
On February 10, 2009, an active Iridium communications satellite and a derelict Soviet military spacecraft slammed into each other 789 kilometers above Siberia. The collision produced more than 2,300 pieces of trackable debris that are still up there. Seventeen years later, the Iridium-Cosmos collision remains the event that made space debris a policy problem the world could no longer ignore.
Starlink satellites in orbit May 2026: 10,374, with 10,358 working. Mission 17-29 lifts 24 more from Vandenberg and a satellite films the Starlink train.
Over 27,000 high-speed pieces of space junk now threaten vital satellites, requiring sophisticated tracking and urgent innovation of orbital debris removal methods like harpoons and nets.
On April 27, 1961, a Scout rocket lifted a 37-kilogram NASA satellite into orbit from Wallops Island carrying the first serious instrument for detecting cosmic gamma rays. Explorer 11 operated for seven months before its tape recorder failed. In that time it registered 22 gamma-ray photons - a pitiful number by modern standards, but enough to launch an entire branch of astronomy.
SpaceX's Starlink constellation has grown at an astonishing rate, now accounting for over 20% of all trackable objects in orbit. With plans for tens of thousands more, Starlink is on the cusp of forever changing the landscape of Earth's near-space environment.
NASA is adding 6 post-certification crew missions to SpaceX's contract as Boeing remains unable to certify Starliner for operational flights.
