Science
TEMPSAT 1
Thermal / Drag Research Satellite · US Air Force
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Tempsat 1, launched in 1965 to study how atmospheric drag and solar heating affect small spherical satellites over time — essentially a passive thermal and orbital-decay experiment. Decades of tracking data from objects like this one helped refine the drag models still used to predict satellite lifetimes today.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 675–739 mi (1,086–1,189 km)
- Inclination
- 90.0°
- One orbit
- 107.9 minutes13.3 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 01512
- Int’l designator
- 1965-065E
- Launched
- 1965
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.