CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
1980-0042
TOURNESOL
TOURNESOL (NORAD 5128) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 28 January 1980, after 8 years, 9 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
5128
International designator
1971-030A
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
France
Launched
15 Apr 1971Guiana Space Centre
Re-entered (UTC)
28 Jan 1980UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
8 years, 9 months3,210 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
46.3°N to 46.3°SFinal inclination 46.3°
Mass
96 kg
Operator
CNES
Built by
Ae/Cannes
Bus
D-2
Programme
Diamant Ast
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 46.3°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 46.3°N and 46.3°S.
Life in orbit
8 years, 9 monthsTOURNESOL’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
Also ended on 28 Jan 1980
2 entriesFrom the same launch
1971-030
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1980-0042
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1980-0042
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.