CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
1979-0417
THOR ALTAIR R/B
THOR ALTAIR R/B (NORAD 1289) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 6 September 1979, after 14 years, 5 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
1289
International designator
1965-021C
Object type
Rocket body
Country
United States
Launched
18 Mar 1965Vandenberg
Re-entered (UTC)
6 Sep 1979UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
14 years, 5 months5,285 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
81.0°N to 81.0°SFinal inclination 99.0°
Mass
24 kg
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 99.0°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 81.0°N and 81.0°S.
Life in orbit
14 years, 5 monthsTHOR ALTAIR R/B’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
Also ended on 6 Sep 1979
5 entriesFrom the same launch
1965-021Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1979-0417
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1979-0417
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.