CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
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Entry no.
1978-0498

ARIEL 4 (UK-4)

ARIEL 4 (UK-4) (NORAD 5675) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 12 December 1978, after 7 years in orbit.

Official date
NORAD number
5675
International designator
1971-109A
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United Kingdom
Launched
11 Dec 1971Vandenberg
Re-entered (UTC)
12 Dec 1978UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
7 years2,558 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
83.0°N to 83.0°SFinal inclination 83.0°
Mass
103 kg
Operator
SRC
Built by
BAC
Bus
UK 4
Programme
UK

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 83.0°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 83.0°N and 83.0°S.

Life in orbit

7 years

ARIEL 4 (UK-4)’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.

Also ended on 12 Dec 1978

6 entries
1978-0499EXPLORER 51 (AE-C)1978-0504COSMOS 10501978-0500DELTA 1 R/B(1)1978-0503DELTA 1 R/B(1)1978-0501SALYUT 6 DEB1978-0502SALYUT 6 DEB

From the same launch

1971-109
1978-0360SCOUT B-1 R/B
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Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
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