Fifty years ago, the United States successfully launched Orbiting Solar Observatory No. 1 (OSO-1) into Earth orbit. Launch from Cape Canaveral's LC-17A took place on Wednesday, 07 March 1962 at 16:04:00 UTC. OSO 1 (initially designated 1962-Zeta 1) was the first in a series of eight successfully-launched U.S. Orbiting Solar Observatory satellites. The primary mission of OSO 1 was to measure solar electromagnetic radiation in the [ultraviolet], X-ray, and gamma-ray regions. Read more
Forty-nine years ago, the United States successfully launched Orbiting Solar Observatory No. 1 (OSO-1) into Earth orbit. Launch from Cape Canaveral's LC-17A took place on Wednesday, 07 March 1962 at 16:04:00 UTC. A Thor-Delta 301/D8 launch vehicle placed the 458-lb OSO-1 satellite into a near circular Earth orbit (291-nm x 275-nm). The orbital period of 94.7 minutes meant that OSO-1 orbited the Earth 15.2 times each day. This robotic spacecraft provided the first detailed scientific examination of the Sun from space. NASA's Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO) Program was America's first attempt to acquire detailed solar physics data using orbital spacecraft. A total of eight (8) OSO space probes were launched into Earth orbit between 1962 and 1975. Read more