CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
1979-0158
GRIDSPHERE 2
GRIDSPHERE 2 (NORAD 5401) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 14 April 1979, after 7 years, 8 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
5401
International designator
1971-067G
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United States
Launched
7 Aug 1971Vandenberg
Re-entered (UTC)
14 Apr 1979UTC calendar dayAlso recorded as 18 Mar 1979
Time in orbit
7 years, 8 months2,807 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
87.6°N to 87.6°SFinal inclination 87.6°
Mass
4 kg
Operator
SAMSO / AFAL
Built by
AFAL / GOYR?
Bus
AVL-802
Programme
OV1 A
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 87.6°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 87.6°N and 87.6°S.
Life in orbit
7 years, 8 monthsGRIDSPHERE 2’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
Also ended on 14 Apr 1979
6 entriesFrom the same launch
1971-067
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1979-0158
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1979-0158
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.