List of artificial objects in heliocentric orbit

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

United States

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/Russian Federation

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

European Space Agency (ESA)

The European Space Agency has placed in heliocentric orbit:

  • Helios 1 (joint U.S./Germany) Sun (1975-1985)
  • 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

Japan has placed in heliocentric orbit:

China

China has placed in heliocentric orbit:

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.