Ariel 1

In late 1959, the British National Committee for Space Research proposed the development of Ariel 1 to NASA.{{sfn|NASA SP-43 1963|p=1}} By early the following year the two countries had decided upon terms for the Ariel programme's scope and which organisations would be responsible for which parts of the programme.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1968|pp=106–107}}

The UK Minister of Science named the satellite after the sprite in Shakespeare's The Tempest.{{sfn|Wells|Whiteley|Karegeannes|1976|pp=35–36}}

Three units were constructed: one for prototyping, a flight unit, and a backup.{{sfn|NASA SP-119 1996|p=3}}

The satellite weighed {{convert|136|lb|order=flip}}, had a diameter of {{convert|23|in|cm|order=flip}}, and a height of {{convert|22|in|cm|order=flip}}. Solar panels generated power which was stored in nickel-cadmium batteries. A 100-minute tape recorder was used for data collection.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1968|p=105}}

SERC provided the experiments, conducted operations, and later analysed and interpreted the results. Six experiments were carried aboard the satellite. Five of these examined the relationship between two types of solar radiation and changes in the Earth's ionosphere. They were selected to leverage techniques developed in the Skylark programme.{{sfn|NASA SP-119 1996|p=9}}

File:Thor Delta with Ariel 1 (Apr. 26, 1962).jpg

Ariel 1 was planned to launch on the Scout rocket, but the rocket fell behind in development. The decision was made to launch the satellite on the more expensive Thor-Delta rocket, although the Americans footed the bill.{{sfn|Harvey|2003|p=97}}

Ariel 1, the first satellite from a nation besides the United States or the Soviet Union,{{sfn|Harvey|2003|p=97}} was launched aboard an American Thor-Delta rocket from Launch Complex 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, at 18:00:00 GMT on 26 April 1962.{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/displayTrajectory.action?id=1962-015A|title=Ariel 1 Launch/Orbital Information|website=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive|access-date=March 24, 2020}} The successful orbit made Ariel 1 the first international satellite.{{cite web|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a002347.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324071304/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a002347.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=24 March 2020|title=Analysis of the Orbit of Ariel 1, 1962 – ISA, Near 15th – Order Resonance|page=107|first1=Doreen M. C.|last1=Walker|publisher=Royal Aircraft Establishment|id=A-002 347}}

Ariel 1 was among several satellites inadvertently damaged or destroyed by the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test on July 9, 1962, and subsequent radiation belt. Its solar panels sustained damage from the irradiation, affecting Ariel 1's operations.{{sfn|Galvan|Hemenway|Welser|Baiocchi|2014|p=19}} The satellite operated even after the nuclear test. The radiation disabled the timer that would have deactivated the satellite after one year, effectively extending the satellite's life.{{sfn|Harvey|2003|p=97}} It decayed from orbit on 24 May 1976.{{Cite book |url=http://handle.itu.int/11.1004/020.1000/7.10.70.en.100 |title=Table of Artificial Satellites Launched Between 1957 and 1976 |publisher=International Telecommunication Union |oclc=4907282 |page=15 |year=1977 |access-date=2020-03-21}}

The experiments provided X-ray energy data from over 20 solar flares.{{cite news|url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/67185main_apr19.pdf|title=40 years ago: 1st international satellite|newspaper=Spaceport News|publisher=Kennedy Space Center|volume=41|issue=8|date=April 19, 2002}}

{{Portal|Spaceflight}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9rMfAAAAIAAJ|title=Ariel I: the First International Satellite|id=SP-43|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=NASA|year=1963|ref={{sfnRef|NASA SP-43 1963}}}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Dorling|first1=E.|journal=The Observatory|year=1993|volume=113 | title=Ariel 1 and the Beginnings of British Space Science|pages=250|bibcode=1993Obs...113..250D}}
• {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qgIgAAAAIAAJ|title=Ariel I: the First International Satellite: Experimental Results|id=SP-119|publisher=NASA|year=1966|location=Washington, D.C.|ref={{sfnRef|NASA SP-119 1996}}}}
• {{Cite journal| last1 = Dorling| first1 = E. B.| last2 = Robins| first2 = M. O.| issn = 0080-4630| volume = 281| issue = 1387| pages = 445–450| title = United Kingdom Activities| journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences| year = 1964| doi = 10.1098/rspa.1964.0195| jstor = 2414955| bibcode = 1964RSPSA.281..445D| s2cid = 154796264}}
• {{Cite book| publisher = RAND Corporation| isbn = 978-0-8330-8586-3| last1 = Galvan| first1 = David A.| last2 = Hemenway| first2 = Brett| last3 = Welser| first3 = William| last4 = Baiocchi| first4 = Dave| title = Satellite Anomalies| series = Benefits of a Centralized Anomaly Database and Methods for Securely Sharing Information Among Satellite Operators| year = 2014| pages = 7–28| jstor = 10.7249/j.ctt14bs1m1.9}}
• {{cite book| last = Harvey| first = Brian| publisher = Springer Science & Business Media| isbn = 978-1-85233-722-3| title = Europe's Space Programme: To Ariane and Beyond| year =2003}}
• {{cite book|last1=Rosenthal|first1=Alfred|series=NASA Center History Series|location=Washington D.C.|year=1968|url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4301.pdf|title=Venture into Space – Early Years of Goddard Space Flight Center|publisher=NASA|id=SP-4301}}
• {{cite book|last1=Wells|first1=Helen T.|last2=Whiteley|first2=Susan H.|last3=Karegeannes|url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4402.pdf|id=SP-4402|title=Origins of NASA Names|first3=Carrie|series=NASA History Series|publisher=NASA|year=1976|location=Washington, D.C.}}

• {{cite web

|title=Ariel 1

|url=http://www.space.co.uk/Features/UKSpaceExploration/ARIEL1/tabid/245/Default.aspx

|publisher=Space.co.uk

|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425173105/http://www.space.co.uk/Features/UKSpaceExploration/ARIEL1/tabid/245/Default.aspx |archive-date=25 April 2012

}}

• [https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150910-the-nuke-that-fried-satellites-with-terrifying-results The Cold War nuke that fried satellites] (BBC)
• [https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19640006786.pdf The Ariel 1 Satellite]
• [https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19630006724.pdf First International Satellite]
• [https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19650024622.pdf Electronic Integration of the UK-1 International Ionsphere Satellite]
• [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/644928/space-uk-issue-35.pdf Special issue: 50 years of the UK in space]
• [https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsnr.2010.0039 The Royal Society's Formative Role in UK Space Research]
• [https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspa.1964.0194 The Ariel 1 Satellite]

{{Ariel programme}}

{{Orbital launches in 1962}}

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Category:Spacecraft launched in 1962

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Category:Satellites formerly orbiting Earth

Category:First artificial satellites of a country

Category:Satellites of the United Kingdom