The oldest things still in orbit

Vanguard 1 has been in orbit since 17 March 1958 and is the oldest artificial object still circling the Earth. Here it is with some of the satellites launched in the seven years after it that are still up, in the order they went: none of them is operating any more, and every one of them still crosses the sky. The ones Orbinauts has not written about are named and dated as GCAT records them.

See these on the map.

  1. Vanguard 1Pioneer

    Launched on 17 March 1958 by the US Naval Research Laboratory, the first solar-powered satellite, a 15 cm sphere; its mission ended in 1964.

  2. Vanguard IIEarth-watching satellite

    Launched on 17 February 1959, 10 kg; GCAT files it under imaging and dates the end of its regular operations to 7 March 1959 (GCAT).

  3. Vanguard III

    Launched on 18 September 1959, 23 kg, a science satellite flown by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center; its regular operations ended on 12 December 1959 (GCAT).

  4. Explorer 7

    Launched on 13 October 1959, 41 kg, a science satellite built by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and flown by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center; its regular operations ended in February 1961 (GCAT).

  5. TIROS-1Pioneer

    Launched on 1 April 1960, the world's first successful weather satellite, which gave forecasters their first view of cloud formations from orbit and failed in 1960.

  6. Transit II-ANavigation satellite

    Launched on 22 June 1960 for the US Navy's Bureau of Naval Weapons, a 100 kg navigation satellite built by the Applied Physics Laboratory; its regular operations ended on 26 October 1962 (GCAT).

  7. Courier 1BCommunications satellite

    Launched on 4 October 1960 by the US Army Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories, a 225 kg communications satellite; its regular operations ended on 22 October 1960 (GCAT).

  8. Explorer 11Space telescope

    Launched on 27 April 1961, 40 kg, filed by GCAT under astronomy and flown by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center; its regular operations ended on 6 December 1961 (GCAT).

  9. Telstar 1Pioneer

    Launched on 10 July 1962, the first active communications satellite, which relayed the first television pictures across the Atlantic; its transmitter failed on 21 February 1963.

  10. Alouette 1Pioneer

    Launched on 29 September 1962, the first satellite built by a country other than the United States or the Soviet Union, Canada's, which studied the ionosphere for ten years.

  11. Syncom 3Pioneer

    Launched on 19 August 1964, the first geostationary satellite, which carried live television of the Tokyo Olympics; switched off in 1969 and still up there.

Whether each one is operating was read from the catalogue on Nov 9, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC. The names and facts of the satellites Orbinauts has not written about are GCAT’s, and so is whether a satellite is operating, except where Orbinauts writes when its mission ended. GCAT is Jonathan McDowell’s general catalogue, licensed CC BY 4.0.