CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
1968-0274
OV1-15 (SPADES)
OV1-15 (SPADES) (NORAD 3318) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 6 November 1968, after 3 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
3318
International designator
1968-059A
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United States
Launched
11 Jul 1968Vandenberg
Re-entered (UTC)
6 Nov 1968UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
3 months118 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
89.8°N to 89.8°SFinal inclination 89.8°
Mass
214 kg
Operator
USAF OAR
Built by
GD/Convair
Bus
OV1
Programme
OV1 F
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 89.8°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 89.8°N and 89.8°S.
Life in orbit
3 monthsOV1-15 (SPADES)’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
From the same launch
1968-059
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1968-0274
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1968-0274
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.