CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Orbital Register seal
Entry no.
1961-0034

RANGER 1

RANGER 1 (NORAD 173) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 30 August 1961, after 7 days in orbit.

Official date
NORAD number
173
International designator
1961-021A
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United States
Launched
23 Aug 1961Cape Canaveral
Re-entered (UTC)
30 Aug 1961UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
7 days7 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
32.9°N to 32.9°SFinal inclination 32.9°
Mass
306 kg
Operator
JPL
Built by
JPL
Bus
Ranger Block I
Programme
Ranger I

Where it came down

Latitude band its orbit allowed
Exact position not recorded

No position was recorded for this re-entry. Its final orbit, inclined at 32.9°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 32.9°N and 32.9°S.

Life in orbit

7 days

From the same launch

1961-021
1961-0035ATLAS AGENA B R/B
Orbital Register seal
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1961-0034
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.