Science
Polar
Catalogued as POLAR
Magnetospheric Research · NASA
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NASA's Polar satellite spent over a decade studying Earth's magnetosphere — the invisible force field that shields life from solar radiation. Launched in 1996 into a highly elliptical orbit that carried it from 3,100 miles to over 31,000 miles altitude, it captured the first full ultraviolet images of Earth's auroral ovals and revealed how the solar wind punches through our magnetic defenses.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Highly Ellipticalswings far out, then dives back close to Earth
- Altitude
- 3,628–32,559 mi (5,839–52,398 km)
- Inclination
- 80.0°
- One orbit
- 18.5 hours1.3 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 23802
- Int’l designator
- 1996-013A
- Launched
- 1996
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 20 Sep 2026.
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