NASA's first-ever OGO satellite set to return after 56 years, here's all you need to know

NASA recently found out that its first spacecraft launched in the Orbiting Geophysics Observatory (OGO) series back in 1964 will probably land on Earth over the weekend. After the University of Arizona’s Catalina Sky Survey (CSS), funded by NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) detected a very small object that appeared to be on the impact trajectory to our planet, it was soon found out that “object was not an asteroid”. In fact, it was NASA’s very old scientific spacecraft OGO-1. The OGO-1 was launched back in September 1964 and was built at the agency’s  Goddard Space Flight Center. Its launch was followed by a series of five other missions, one in each year from 1964 to 1969 in a bid to understand the home planet.

Images of OGO-1 captured during asteroid survey operations on Tuesday, August 25 by University of Arizona’s Catalina Sky Survey, funded by NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.
(Credits: Catalina Sky Survey/University of Arizona/NASA)

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What was the purpose of OGO-1?

NASA has elaborated that OGO-1 was launched into an eccentric orbit around the Earth that took the spacecraft at least two days to finish one orbit “ and allowed the spacecraft to sweep through Earth’s radiation belts to study our planet’s magnetosphere—the region of space surrounding Earth that is controlled by Earth’s magnetic field.”

NASA’s 56-year-old retired, first-ever OGO spacecraft was launched to conduct diversified geophysical experiments that would help the scientists in enhancing the understanding of the planet along with developing and operating a standardised observatory-type satellite. 

OGO-1 consisted of the main body which was ‘parallelepipedal’ in its form, had two solar panels each having a solar-oriented experiment package (SOEP). It also had two orbital plane experiment packages (OPEP) and six appendages EP-1 through EP-6 supporting the experiment packages.

NASA added, “During September 1964, acceptable data were received over 70% of the orbital path. By June 1969, data acquisition was limited to 10% of the orbital path.”

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First to launch in OGO series, last to return

Therefore, the spacecraft was operated and was able to return data only for five years until November 25, 1969, after which it was placed on a standby mode as scientists were unable to return any more information. All support for the mission was formally suspended in 1971. Even though OGO-1 was the first spacecraft in the series to leave the planet, it will be the last one to return to Earth and it has been expected that it has entered the Earth's atmosphere on August 29. All other five satellites have decayed from the orbit and safely made their landing on the planet.

“The spacecraft will break up in the atmosphere and poses no threat to our planet—or anyone on it—and this is a normal final operational occurrence for retired spacecraft,” NASA said.   

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