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List of artificial objects in heliocentric orbit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Below is a list of artificial objects currently in heliocentric orbit. This list does not include upper stages from robotic missions (only the S-IVB upper stages from Apollo missions with astronauts are listed), objects in the Sun–Earth Lagrange points or objects that are escaping from the Solar System.

United States

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The Federal government of the United States has placed in heliocentric orbit:

On Apollos 8 and 10–17, each S-IVB upper stage jettisoned four sections of a truncated conical adapter that supported the Apollo service module and (except for Apollo 8) enclosed the Apollo Lunar Module. These panels are in heliocentric orbit, including those from Apollos 13–17 whose S-IVBs impacted the Moon, as the S-IVBs jettisoned them before maneuvering themselves into lunar impact trajectories. The panels continued on lunar flyby trajectories into heliocentric orbit. (The adapter panels on Apollo 9 were jettisoned in Earth orbit before the S-IVB burned into an Earth escape trajectory. They eventually decayed.)

U.S.-based commercial spaceflight companies have placed in heliocentric orbit:

Soviet Union or Russian Federation

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The Soviet Union or the Russian Federation has placed in heliocentric orbit:

European Space Agency (ESA)

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The European Space Agency has placed in heliocentric orbit:

  • Helios 1 (joint U.S./Germany) – Sun (1975–1985), launched on a US Titan III
  • Helios 2 (joint U.S./Germany) – Sun (1976–1979)
  • Giotto mission – Halley's Comet (1985–1992)
  • Ulysses (joint U.S./ESA) – Jupiter and Sun's north and south poles (1990–2009)

Japan

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Japan has placed in heliocentric orbit:

China

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China has placed in heliocentric orbit:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Lost in Space – A Part of Cassini is Still Out There". University of Stuttgart. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  2. ^ "TAGSAM Testing Complete: OSIRIS-REx Prepared to TAG an Asteroid". NASA. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  3. ^ "IKAROS wakes up from hibernation mode for the 4th time". JAXA. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  4. ^ "Keiichi Okuyama-Lab". Kyushu Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2015-12-01.