Uhuru

retired

Science ExplorationLEOCOSPAR 1970-107ALaunched 12/12/1970

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Mission & Launch

Launch Mission: Explorer 42
Launch Vehicle: Scout B
Launch Date: 12/12/1970
Last Contact: 3/18/1973

Orbit & Mass

Orbit Class: LEO
Altitude: 553.5 km
Inclination: 3.03 deg
Dry Mass: 143 kg
Total Mass: 143 kg

Payload Classification

Organizations

Operator: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Manufacturer: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab

Registry

COSPAR ID: 1970-107A
UN Registration: A/AC.105/INF.229

Mentions

All verified mentions of this spacecraft in source documents.

The Explorers Program has launched missions including Uhuru and the Cosmic Background Explorer that led to Nobel prizes for their investigators.

GeneralValue 3.5Feb 14, 2024NASA's Latest Mission to Investigate the Ultraviolet Sky, Stars, and Stellar Explosions

The Explorers Program has launched more than 90 missions, including the Uhuru and Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) missions that led to Nobel prizes for their investigators.

General

NASA’s Uhuru satellite, launched in 1970 and operated for three years, mapped more than 300 X-ray sources.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Aug 22, 202250 years have passed for NASA’s Copernicus satellite which set the bar for space astronomy