Ariel 1

Ariel 1

Scale model of Ariel 1 satellite, London Science Museum
Names	UK-1, S-55
Mission type	Ionospheric
Operator	SERC / NASA[1]
Harvard designation	1962 Omicron 1[2]
COSPAR ID	1962-015A
SATCAT no.	285[1]
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[3]
Ariel Ariel 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.