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Space

Engineers Want To Bring Home the World's Oldest Satellite (gizmodo.com) 45

Posted by EditorDavid from the down-to-earth dept.
Launched in 1958, the "awkward-looking" Vanguard-1 satellite ("the size of a grapefruit") is the oldest artificial object orbiting Earth.

"A team of researchers and engineers want to retrieve the satellite for closer inspection and are currently working to find a way to bring Vanguard-1 home," writes Gizmodo: Other satellites of its time have reentered through Earth's atmosphere, burning up in a fiery death, but Vanguard-1 is still in orbit, silently zooming through the void of space... A team of researchers and engineers from Virginia-based consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton have put together a proposal on how to retrieve the satellite from space, bringing it back to Earth to study how its equipment has fared over the years, according to a report by Space.com. The team's proposal is detailed in a study published in the Aerospace Research Center earlier this year...

Considering how old Vanguard-1 is, the astronauts would need to handle it with care, according to the team behind the proposal. Before a retrieval attempt, the team suggests that a spacecraft be sent to rendezvous with the satellite to inspect its condition up-close. The engineers suggested partnering with a wealthy space enthusiast willing to fund the outer space venture, or using a SpaceX vehicle to bring the satellite home. Once it's brought back to Earth, experts would examine Vanguard-1 to assess its condition — whether it was struck by space debris, if it's still holding together, and how its time in orbit has affected the satellite. The satellite could then be placed at the Smithsonian for display as a sort of time capsule, a reminder of the history of spaceflight, the team suggests.

"Future missions (space debris removal, materials capture for on-orbit manufacturing, and even deep space exploration) could build on techniques demonstrated in the retrieval of Vanguard 1," the paper read. "Retrieving Vanguard 1 would be a challenge, but an achievable and invaluable step forward for the entire U.S. space community."
"The researchers suggest that the satellite can be placed in a lower orbit and snagged from space, or reeled into the International Space Station," according to the article.

Space.com shares this assessment from Bill Raynor, the associate superintendent of the Naval Research Laboratory's spacecraft engineering division. "For material and radiation effects scientists and engineers, it would be an unprecedented opportunity for investigating the effects of long-term space environmental exposure."

Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader AmiMoJo for sharing the news.

Engineers Want To Bring Home the World's Oldest Satellite More | Reply

Engineers Want To Bring Home the World's Oldest Satellite

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  • But seriously, how can they get it back to Earth without it burning up in the atmosphere? Maybe reeling it into the ISS could work.

    • Re:This is the start of a sci-fi horror movie (Score:4, Informative)

      by Zocalo ( 252965 ) on Saturday April 19, 2025 @12:00PM (#65317203) Homepage
      I'm assuming they'd grab it in orbit, then reel it into a small capsule like the ones that have returned samples from the moon and the proposed similar mission to Mars. Once Vanguard-1 is safely inside, it's a re-entry burn and either a parachute assisted splashdown or touchdown as normal for returning capsules.

      And the Sci-Fi horror movie you are looking for is probably The Andromeda Strain [imdb.com].

    • the ultimate fishing trip. They'd have to get it to approximately match IIS's orbit first.

      • I'm assuming that given the age of the satellite and the description in the article of it being silent means that it doesn't have the ability to change its orbit at all.

        That being the case, if we want it back then we're going to have to get it with something that can match its orbit.

        Unless it's mighty close in its orbital parameters to that of the ISS (doubtful) then it'll be a lot easier/cheaper/safer to use a smaller custom-built vessel to go fetch it.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by Tablizer ( 95088 )

          Something would have to push it to adjust its orbit, but taking it back down to Earth may be asking too much. Thus, say some kind of net could be used by a satellite to pull it into an orbit where the IIS crew could snag it and carry it back down in a standard return capsule.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by bjoast ( 1310293 )

      But seriously, how can they get it back to Earth without it burning up in the atmosphere?

      They are not going to just deorbit this capsule as is. They'll use another craft as a carrier.

  • The first thing you hear when they retrieve it (Score:4, Funny)

    by CyberSlammer ( 1459173 ) on Saturday April 19, 2025 @11:51AM (#65317189)

    I AM NOMAD I AM PERFECT!!

  • I'd be very interested to read about how 67 years in space have affected the satellite. Additionally, this space craft and I are about the same age, so I'd like to compare old-fart notes with it... 8^/

    • Erratic trajectory, likely to leak from unexpected orifices, brittle, soft parts cracked from dehydration, contaminated with all sorts of radiation exposure. Oh, you were wondering about the satellite!

      • Erratic trajectory, likely to leak from unexpected orifices, brittle, soft parts cracked from dehydration, contaminated with all sorts of radiation exposure. Oh, you were wondering about the satellite!

        Thanks - I needed a laugh! Wait...what?

        Why the fuck am I laughing?

    • Would be interesting to know if the processors/RAM etc is damaged by cosmic rays.
      Actually let me google that thing, probably it ran on simple relays and does not have semiconductor RAM and processors :D

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by angel'o'sphere ( 80593 )

        Okay, mini summary:
        Has no processors or memory.
        Oldest solar cells in space.
        10mW <- yes, that is milli Watt, transmitter.
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

        Ran on a single mercury cell ... interesting.
        Not sure what other instruments it has and for what the solar panels are good ... oh I found it: were used as part of a radio phase-comparison angle-tracking system.

        However the transmitter was used to measure the "total electron content" in the ionosphere.
        That number describes the amount of electrons in a cyl

  • to become a reality... Highly recomended.

    Wikipedia page:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

    Chapter one of the Anime (use it to sample, if you like it, batter quality is available via streaming):
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
    Translations to Spanish from Spain are also available. Do not know/care about other languages.

    AllTropes page:
    https://allthetropes.org/wiki/... [allthetropes.org]

  • space tourism (Score:3)

    by groobly ( 6155920 ) on Saturday April 19, 2025 @12:21PM (#65317255)

    Why not leave it in space and make it a space tourism destination, where you can do an EVA and look at it up close, still in orbit?

    • Why not leave it in space and make it a space tourism destination, where you can do an EVA and look at it up close, still in orbit?

      You know some moron tourist will carve his initials on it or try to pocket it surreptitiously...

  • known as ? Vanguard -1 and Vanguard 0 ? And after the Navy could not deliver, we went to the tried-and-true ex-Nazi and his V-2, excuse me, Redstone to launch Explorer 1.

  • A bit of a fail (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Baron_Yam ( 643147 ) on Saturday April 19, 2025 @01:06PM (#65317355)

    > The satellite could then be placed at the Smithsonian for display as a sort of time capsule

    Space is harsh, but if you ensure it is in a long-term stable orbit a satellite has the potential to last a lot longer in orbit than in any terrestrial museum.

    Study it in situ.

    • > The satellite could then be placed at the Smithsonian for display as a sort of time capsule

      Space is harsh, but if you ensure it is in a long-term stable orbit a satellite has the potential to last a lot longer in orbit than in any terrestrial museum.

      Study it in situ.

      YEah right, let's lift into orbit an X-Ray analysis machine and Ultraound analysis machine (for the microfracture and material fatigue analysis and such) and a bunch of interdisciplinary scientists to study it in-situ, instead of bringing back down to earth a thing the size of a grapefruit... /s

  • Upper Stage (Score:3)

    by crow ( 16139 ) on Saturday April 19, 2025 @01:24PM (#65317395) Homepage Journal

    Apparently the upper stage of the launch vehicle is also still in orbit. Perhaps leave the satellite and bring back the upper stage. It's also probably a lot larger, so there will be more to study. And it's probably also a lot harder to bring back, so we may learn more about how to do things than just bringing back a tiny satellite; an astronaut in a Dragon could just climb out and grab the satellite.

    • Apparently the upper stage of the launch vehicle is also still in orbit. Perhaps leave the satellite and bring back the upper stage. It's also probably a lot larger, so there will be more to study. And it's probably also a lot harder to bring back, so we may learn more about how to do things than just bringing back a tiny satellite; an astronaut in a Dragon could just climb out and grab the satellite.

      Your idea is not bad, except that, since the space shuttles were retired, we are not capable to bring back such large/heavy objects as upper stages. If we had the shuttles, I'd agree 100% with you

    • How much debris will we leave behind to get the satellite out of orbit?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by crow ( 16139 )

        That's a good point. Any mission to this orbit would have a new upper stage in that orbit. But today I think most missions leave enough fuel in the upper stage for it to do one more burn to deorbit. So the answer is, hopefully, no new debris would be left behind.

  • Genius (Score:4, Insightful)

    by RitchCraft ( 6454710 ) on Saturday April 19, 2025 @02:32PM (#65317475)

    What a genius and covert way to develop a satellite catching craft. Disguise it as a "historical" retrieval mission.

    • NASA developed, built, and operated a satellite catching craft over 50 years ago. It was called the STS, otherwise known as the Space Shuttle. Publicly, it caught the Solar Max satellite, the Hubble Space Telescope, and several others. Thatâ(TM)s what it was built for. What do you consider the chances are that a few Soviet satellites were also visited during the classified Department of Defense missions? https://www.nasa.gov/history/3... [nasa.gov]

  • Engineers Want To Bring Home the World's Oldest Satellite

    Well, the World's Oldest Satellite is Luna, about 4 billion years older than any other satellite.
    It would be quite tricky bringing that back to Earth, and also disruptive to the climate etc.

    (Yeah, I know its corrected in TFS)

  • Oh, cool. After this, maybe they could bring back Voyager. /s
    • Perhaps returning this and Voyager to Earth could help explain why the US was so dominant in space back then.
  • It goes up and down.

    Can Bezos make it go left and right, maybe forward and back? Possibly shake things up and try to yaw, pitch or roll?

    Clearly, this must be within the realm of possibility for The Bezos Eye (like the London Eye but you have to be a great publicity stunt to ride it).

    Maybe for this flight, he can send all Africans or maybe for real fun a bunch of flat earthers. Hasn't it been a while since an all dog or primate crew has gone to space?

    P.S. My jabbing isn't because I dislike BO. It's just that
  • This is a task that is probably right up its alley.

  • Engineers Want To Bring Home the World's Oldest Satellite

    That would be the moon.
    Please, don't even try.

  • Just don't make it a "Scoop" situation.

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