Curated by:
Special Orbits:
Coming Down:
Recent Years:
Between Times:
Earlier Times:
Orbital elements based on amateur observations
Satellite observers' discussion group
Database of amateur observations using radio
Primary source of unclassified orbital elements
| 1960 - 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.
1960-F01 - failed to reach orbit Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1960 Feb 4, 18:51 | Discoverer 9 (Corona 9006/KH-1) |
|
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Lost when a series of failures prevented the launch vehicle reaching orbit. |
|
1960-F02 - failed to reach orbit Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1960 Feb 19, 20:15 | Discoverer 10 (Corona 9007/KH-1) |
|
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Lost when launch vehicle went off course and was destroyed by Range Safety 56s after lift-off. |
|
1960-F03 - failed to reach orbit Atlas-Agena A
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Feb 26, 17:25 | MIDAS 1 (Missile Defence Alarm System 1) |
|
| Experimental satellite of the Missile Defense and Early Warning System equipped with infrared sensors and intended to work in conjunction with the land-based BMEWS system. Lost when the launch vehicle second stage failed to separate. |
|
1960-001 Thor Able IV
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Mar 11, 13:00 | |
in space
|
| Interplanetary spacecraft launched towards Venus. Data was received until April 30, 1960, after which signal strength was too weak. Final reported signal detection was by Jodrell Bank 1960 Jun 26 at a distance of 36.2 million km. |
| Heliocentric orbit | |
1960-F04 - failed to reach orbit Juno II
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Mar 23, 13:35 | |
|
| Science satellite to analyse electron and proton radiation energies. Lost when the launch vehicle failed. |
|
1960-002 Thor Able II
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Apr 1, 11:40 | |
in space
|
| Television Infrared Observation Satellite meteorological satellite experimenting with techniques for obtaining TV images of cloud patterns. Ceased operation 1960 Jun 16 through an electrical failure. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | Desc Node
Local Time | |
| 1960 Apr 08, 08:50 | 7100 | 0.0045 | 690 | 754 | 99.24 | 48.41 | 143 | 13:54 | | |
1960-003 Thor Ablestar
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Apr 13, 12:02 | |
Re-entered - 1967 Oct 5
Life 2731 days
|
| First generation, experimental navigation satellite. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 May 11, 10:25 | 6936 | 0.0265 | 374 | 742 | 95.82 | 51.28 | 0 | | | | |
Re-entered - 1960 Jul 17
Life 95 days
|
| Designed to simulate the mass of the upcoming GRAB/Solrad signals intelligence (SIGINT) programme in order to test dual payload launch. GRAB (Galactic Radiation and Background) was a cover name for a project of the US Naval Laboratory. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Apr 25, 00:07 | 6875 | 0.0303 | 288 | 705 | 94.55 | 51.22 | 311 | | | |
1960-004 Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1960 Apr 15, 20:30 | Discoverer 11 (Corona 9008/KH-1) 1960 δ1 32 |
Re-entered - 1960 Apr 26
Life 11 days
|
| US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Retro-fire and re-entry appeared to go to plan but the actual re-entry vehicle was not detected as it descended. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Apr 16, 06:43 | 6763 | 0.0323 | 167 | 603 | 92.25 | 80.41 | 149 | | | |
1960-F05 - failed to reach orbit Vostok-L 8K72
Baikonur Cosmodrome | 1960 Apr 16, 16:07 | |
|
| Lunar photographic spacecraft similar to Luna-3. Lost when the launch vehicle first stage failed. |
|
1960-F06 - failed to reach orbit Thor Delta
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 May 13, 09:16 | |
|
| 30.5 m diameter mylar polyester film balloon. intended to be used as a passive radio reflector. Lost when the launch vehicle was destroyed aftter the second stage attitude control system failed. |
|
1960-005 Vostok 8K72
Baikonur Cosmodrome | 1960 May 15, 00:00 | Korabl Sputnik (Vostok-1KP) 1960 ε1 34 |
Re-entered - 1962 Sep 5
Life 843 days
|
First launch of a Korabl Sputnik in preparation for piloted spaceflight, recovery of the cabin was not intended so it carried no heat shielding. 1960 May 19, 23:52 UTC, retrofire occurred. The guidance system had oriented the spacecraft 180 degrees away from the required attitude so the spacecraft ascended to a higher orbit (as listed below). Otherwise the flight went as expected. The original orbit was reported to have been approx 320 x 360 km. After the retro-rocket firing, the cabin separated and became catalogued as 1960 ε 3, NORAD 36. Catalogued by NORAD with alternate name Sputnik 4.
Note - First satellite to be tracked by the Kettering Grammar School Satellite Tracking Group. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Jun 17, 05:29 | 6856 | 0.0272 | 291 | 665 | 94.16 | 64.89 | 79 | | | |
1960-006 Atlas-Agena A
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 May 24, 17:36 | |
Re-entered - 1974 Feb 7
Life 5007 days
|
| Experimental satellite of the Missile Defense and Early Warning System equipped with infrared sensors and intended to work in conjunction with the land-based BMEWS system. A communications failure meant that only limited data was returned. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 May 27, 08:07 | 6878 | 0.0026 | 482 | 517 | 94.60 | 33.00 | 161 | | | |
1960-007 Thor Ablestar
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Jun 22, 05:54 | |
in space
|
| First generation, experimental navigation satellite, also used for geodesy. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Jun 25, 01:00 | 7215 | 0.0291 | 626 | 1047 | 101.65 | 66.77 | 234 | | | | Solrad 1 (GRAB 1) 1960 η2 46 |
in space
|
| Signals intelligence satellite from the US Naval Laboratory. Also carried the Solrad (Solar Radiation) package of instruments to make observations of the solar hydrogen Lyman-alpha and soft X-ray emissions. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Jul 06, 08:06 | 7215 | 0.0291 | 626 | 1047 | 101.65 | 66.77 | 226 | | | |
1960-F07 - failed to reach orbit Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1960 Jun 29, 22:00 | |
|
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite designed to verify the parachute and recovery system. Lost when launch vehicle upper stage failed. |
|
1960-F08 - failed to reach orbit Vostok 8K72
Baikonur Cosmodrome | 1960 Jul 28, 09:31 | Korabl Sputnik (Vostok 1K №1) |
|
| First launch of Vostok prototype. The launch vehicle exploded, destroying the spacecraft and killing two dogs - Chaika and Lisichka. |
|
1960-008 Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1960 Aug 10, 20:37 | Discoverer 13 (Corona) 1960 θ1 48 |
Re-entered - 1960 Nov 14
Life 96 days
Returned to Earth |
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite designed to verify the parachute and recovery system. No cameras or film were carried. Re-entry vehicle successfully retrieved from the Pacific Ocean slightly away from the planned zone so the airborne recovery crew missed a mid-air snatch. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Aug 11, 18:01 | 6848 | 0.0319 | 252 | 688 | 94.00 | 82.85 | 151 | | | |
1960-009 Thor Delta
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Aug 12, 09:39 | |
Re-entered - 1968 May 24
Life 2842 days
|
| 30.5 m diameter mylar polyester film balloon. used as a passive radio reflector. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Aug 12, 22:52 | 7984 | 0.0082 | 1540 | 1671 | 118.32 | 47.28 | 4 | | | |
1960-010 Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1960 Aug 18, 19:57 | Discoverer 14 (Corona 9009/KH-1) 1960 κ1 54 |
Re-entered - 1960 Sep 16
Life 29 days
Returned to Earth |
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Re-entry vehicle successfully recovered in a mid-air snatch near Hawaii. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Aug 18, 22:32 | 6872 | 0.0459 | 178 | 809 | 94.48 | 79.65 | 167 | | | |
1960-F09 - failed to reach orbit Thor Ablestar
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Aug 18, 19:58 | |
|
| Experimental military communications satellite. Lost when the launch vehicle second stage failed. |
|
1960-011 Vostok 8K72
Baikonur Cosmodrome | 1960 Aug 19, 08:44 | Korabl Sputnik 2 (Vostok-1K №2) 1960 λ1 55 |
Re-entered - 1960 Aug 20
Life 1 day
Returned to Earth |
| Carried the dogs Strelka and Belka, plus grey rabbit, rats, mice, flies, plants, fungi, microscopic water plants, and seeds. Returned telemetry and TV images showing the dogs' physical condition. Strelka and Belka became the first living creatures to orbit the Earth and return safely. Catalogued by NORAD with alternate name Sputnik 5. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Aug 19, 10:06 | 6689 | 0.0044 | 281 | 340 | 90.74 | 64.65 | 131 | | | |
1960-012 Thor Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1960 Sep 13, 22:14 | Discoverer 15 (Corona 9010/KH-1) 1960 μ1 57 |
Re-entered - 1960 Oct 18
Life 35 days
|
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Re-entry vehicle lost when it sank in the Pacific Ocean. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Sep 14, 00:48 | 6856 | 0.0405 | 201 | 756 | 94.17 | 80.90 | 162 | | | |
1960-F10 - failed to reach orbit Atlas-Able
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Sep 25, 15:13 | |
|
| Lunar orbiter equipped with a range of science and technology experiments. Lost when the launch vehicle second stage failed. |
|
1960-013 Thor Ablestar
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Oct 4, 17:50 | |
in space
|
| Experimental military communications satellite. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Oct 06, 13:57 | 7468 | 0.0196 | 943 | 1236 | 107.04 | 28.30 | 56 | | | |
1960-F11 - failed to reach orbit Molniya 8K78
Baikonur Cosmodrome | 1960 Oct 10, 14:27 | |
|
| Mars photographic spacecraft. Lost when the launch vehicle lost a steering control sensor and failed to reach orbit. |
|
1960-F12 - failed to reach orbit Atlas-Agena A
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1960 Oct 11, 20:33 | SAMOS (Satellite & Missile Observation System/E1-1) |
|
| Satellite And Missile Obervation System - photographic reconnaissance satellite using TV relay. Lost when the launch vehicle failed. |
|
1960-F13 - failed to reach orbit Molniya 8K78
Baikonur Cosmodrome | 1960 Oct 14, 13:51 | |
|
| Mars photographic spacecraft. Lost when the third stage of the launch vehicle failed to ignite. |
|
1960-F14 - failed to reach orbit Thor Agena B
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1960 Oct 26, 20:26 | Discoverer 16 (Corona 9011/KH-2) |
|
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Satellite lost when the satellite failed to separate from the upper stage of the launch vehicle and re-entered the atmosphere immediately. |
|
1960-014 Juno II
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Nov 3, 05:23 | Explorer Radiation Satellite (Explorer 8, S-30) 1960 ξ1 60 |
Re-entered - 2012 Mar 28
Life 18773 days
|
| Scientific satellite with a cluster of instruments to study protons and electrons in the Earth's radiation belts. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Nov 11, 01:06 | 7731 | 0.1212 | 416 | 2290 | 112.75 | 49.98 | 73 | | | |
1960-015 Thor Agena B
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1960 Nov 12, 20:43 | Discoverer 17 (Corona 9012/KH-2) 1960 ο1 61 |
Re-entered - 1960 Dec 29
Life 47 days
Returned to Earth |
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Re-entry vehicle recovered 1960 Nov 14 but a film feed problem meant most of it was lost. Also carried an experiment to expose human tissue to space radiation. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Nov 14, 04:16 | 6960 | 0.0574 | 183 | 981 | 96.31 | 81.86 | 159 | | | |
1960-016 Thor Delta
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Nov 23, 11:13 | |
Re-entered - 2014 May 18
Life 19534 days
|
| Television Infrared Observation Satellite meteorological satellite experimenting with techniques for obtaining TV images of cloud patterns. Ceased operation 1961 Jan 22. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | Desc Node
Local Time | |
| 1960 Nov 28, 05:41 | 7054 | 0.0096 | 608 | 744 | 98.28 | 48.57 | 351 | 14:17 | | |
1960-F15 - failed to reach orbit Thor Ablestar
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Nov 30, 19:50 | |
|
| Signals intelligence satellite from the US Naval Laboratory. |
| |
|
| Experimental navigation satellite. Lost when the launch vehicle failed. |
|
1960-017 Vostok 8K72
Baikonur Cosmodrome | 1960 Dec 1, 07:30 | Korabl Sputnik 3 (Vostok-1K №3) 1960 ρ1 65 |
Re-entered - 1960 Dec 2
Life 1 day
|
| Carried the dogs Pchelka and Mushka plus other animals, insects, and plants. Retro-fire was 1960 Dec 2, 07:15 UTC. The spacecraft was burned up in the lower atmosphere after the retro-rocket failed to shut down and caused the re-entry angle to be too steep. Catalogued by NORAD with alternate name Sputnik 6. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Dec 01, 13:15 | 6582 | 0.0050 | 171 | 237 | 88.58 | 65.00 | 67 | | | |
1960-F16 - failed to reach orbit Scout X-1
Wallops Flight Facility | 1960 Dec 4, 21:14 | |
|
| Science satellite for atmospheric density measurements. Lost when the launch vehicle failed. |
|
1960-018 Thor Agena B
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1960 Dec 7, 20:20 | Discoverer 18 (Corona 9013/KH-2) 1960 σ1 67 |
Re-entered - 1961 Apr 2
Life 116 days
Returned to Earth |
| Test of planned US film recovery reconnaissance satellite. Re-entry vehicle recovered 1960 Dec 10. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Dec 09, 03:01 | 6827 | 0.0320 | 231 | 667 | 93.57 | 81.48 | 174 | | | |
1960-F17 - failed to reach orbit Atlas-Able
Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex | 1960 Dec 15, 09:10 | |
|
| Lunar orbiter equipped with a range of science and technology experiments including spacecraft manouevring, lost when the launch vehicle exploded after 68s. |
|
1960-019 Thor Agena B
US Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello | 1960 Dec 20, 20:32 | Discoverer 19 (Corona RM-1) 1960 τ1 68 |
Re-entered - 1961 Jan 23
Life 34 days
|
| Instrumented Agena-B rocket stage testing sensors for the MIDAS missile early warning satellite programme. Also used to demonstrate the Agena re-start capability. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis
( km ) | ecc | perigee
( km ) | apogee
( km ) | period
( min ) | incl
( ° ) | ω
( ° ) | | |
| 1960 Dec 21, 03:49 | 6796 | 0.0311 | 206 | 629 | 92.92 | 83.40 | 172 | | | |
1960-F18 - failed to reach orbit Vostok 8K72K
Baikonur Cosmodrome | 1960 Dec 22, 07:45 | Korabl Sputnik (Vostok 1K №4) |
|
| Spacecraft separated while the launch vehicle third stage was still firing, and the cabin landed in Siberia. The animal container's ejector mechanism failed to fire but two dogs, Kometa and Shutka, survived a hard landing. |
|
|
|
