Orbiting Geophysical Observatory
Encyclopedia
Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (OGO) refers to the six satellite
s launched by the United States that were in use from September 1964 to 1972, designed to study the Earth
's magnetosphere
. The satellites successfully studied the interactions between the Earth
and the Sun
, despite a number of technical problems. Each satellite had 20 to 25 instruments. OGO 1, OGO 3, and OGO 5 were in equatorial orbits; OGO 2, OGO 4, and OGO 6 were in lower polar orbit
s.
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
s launched by the United States that were in use from September 1964 to 1972, designed to study the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's magnetosphere
Magnetosphere
A magnetosphere is formed when a stream of charged particles, such as the solar wind, interacts with and is deflected by the intrinsic magnetic field of a planet or similar body. Earth is surrounded by a magnetosphere, as are the other planets with intrinsic magnetic fields: Mercury, Jupiter,...
. The satellites successfully studied the interactions between the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, despite a number of technical problems. Each satellite had 20 to 25 instruments. OGO 1, OGO 3, and OGO 5 were in equatorial orbits; OGO 2, OGO 4, and OGO 6 were in lower polar orbit
Polar orbit
A polar orbit is an orbit in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited on each revolution. It therefore has an inclination of 90 degrees to the equator...
s.
OGO launch chronology
- OGO 1 1964-054A NORAD ID: 00879 Launched: 5 September 1964 On-orbit dry mass: 487 kg (still in orbit)
- OGO 2 1965-081A NORAD ID: 01620 Launched: 14 October 1965 On-orbit dry mass: 507 kg (decayed 17 September 1981)
- OGO 3 1966-049A NORAD ID: 02195 Launched: 7 June 1966 On-orbit dry mass: 515 kg (decayed 14 September 1981)
- OGO 4 1967-073A NORAD ID: 02895 Launched:28 July 1967 On-orbit dry mass: 562 kg (decayed 16 August 1972 )
- OGO 5 1968-014A NORAD ID: 03138 Launched: 4 March 1968 On-orbit dry mass: 611 kg (decayed 02 July 2011)
- OGO 6 1969-051A NORAD ID: 03986 Launched: 5 June 1969 On-orbit dry mass: 632 kg (decayed 12 October 1979)