CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
1979-0117
HEAO 1
HEAO 1 (NORAD 10217) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 15 March 1979, after 1 year, 7 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
10217
International designator
1977-075A
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United States
Launched
12 Aug 1977Cape Canaveral
Re-entered (UTC)
15 Mar 1979UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
1 year, 7 months580 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
22.7°N to 22.7°SFinal inclination 22.7°
Mass
2,514 kg
Operator
NASA MSFC
Built by
TRW
Bus
HEAO
Programme
HEAO
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 22.7°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 22.7°N and 22.7°S.
Life in orbit
1 year, 7 monthsHEAO 1’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
Also ended on 15 Mar 1979
3 entriesFrom the same launch
1977-075
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1979-0117
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1979-0117
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.