CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
2021-0296
EXPLORER 26 (EPE-D)
EXPLORER 26 (EPE-D) (NORAD 963) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 25 August 2021, after 56 years, 8 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
963
International designator
1964-086A
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United States
Launched
21 Dec 1964Cape Canaveral
Re-entered (UTC)
25 Aug 2021UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
56 years, 8 months20,701 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
19.7°N to 19.7°SFinal inclination 19.7°
Mass
46 kg
Operator
GSFC
Built by
RAYM? / GSFC
Bus
EPE
Programme
Explorer EPE
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 19.7°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 19.7°N and 19.7°S.
Life in orbit
56 years, 8 monthsEXPLORER 26 (EPE-D)’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
Also ended on 25 Aug 2021
1 entryFrom the same launch
1964-086
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2021-0296
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2021-0296
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.