CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
1972-0270
OV1-18
OV1-18 (NORAD 3824) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 27 August 1972, after 3 years, 5 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
3824
International designator
1969-025B
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United States
Launched
18 Mar 1969Vandenberg
Re-entered (UTC)
27 Aug 1972UTC calendar dayAlso recorded as 28 Aug 1972
Time in orbit
3 years, 5 months1,258 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
81.2°N to 81.2°SFinal inclination 98.8°
Mass
132 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 98.8°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 81.2°N and 81.2°S.
Life in orbit
3 years, 5 monthsOV1-18’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
From the same launch
1969-025
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1972-0270
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1972-0270
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.