CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
1962-0024
DISCOVERER 23 CAPSULE
DISCOVERER 23 CAPSULE (NORAD 102) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 23 May 1962, after 1 year, 1 month in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
102
International designator
1961-011B
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United States
Launched
8 Apr 1961Vandenberg
Re-entered (UTC)
23 May 1962UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
1 year, 1 month410 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
81.9°N to 81.9°SFinal inclination 81.9°
Mass
157 kg
Operator
USAF SSD / CIA
Built by
GE/RSD
Bus
SRV Mk V
Programme
SRV
Where it came down
Latitude band its orbit allowedExact position not recorded
No position was recorded for this re-entry. Its final orbit, inclined at 81.9°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 81.9°N and 81.9°S.
Life in orbit
1 year, 1 monthDISCOVERER 23 CAPSULE’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
Also ended on 23 May 1962
1 entryFrom the same launch
1961-011
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1962-0024
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1962-0024
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.