Science and Engineering Research CouncilScout B-1Space Launch Complex 5, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Ariel 4
Launched
December 11, 1971
Image: NASA
Summary
Ariel 4 launched on a Science and Engineering Research Council Scout B-1 from Space Launch Complex 5, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA on December 11, 1971. It was Science and Engineering Research Council's 3rd launch, 1st this year and humanity's 1,295th orbital launch attempt. It was the 2nd Scout B-1 flight. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). Ariel 4, one of 4 catalogued objects, reached a 482 × 599 km orbit inclined 83.0°. 4 objects from this launch are catalogued, one of them a payload.
- Watch
- No webcast on record.
- Vehicle
- Scout B-1 · Science and Engineering Research Council
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Earth Science · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Milestone
- 2nd Scout B-1 flightScience and Engineering Research Council's 3rd launch1st this yearhumanity's 1,295th orbital launch attempt124th orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
Ariel 4 · NORAD 5675 · 1971-109 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 4 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- ARIEL 4 (UK-4)
- Object ID
- 1971-109A
- Epoch
- 1971-12-12 13:41:46 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.10961056 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.008419
- Inclination
- 82.9922°
- Ascending node
- 96.2753°
- Arg. of perigee
- 242.3936°
- Mean anomaly
- 116.8675°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 11
- B*
- 0
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: LEO.
Catalogued objects
4 catalogued: 1 payload, 1 rocket stage, 2 components; none still in orbit
- Ariel 4 · NORAD 5675 · re-entered December 12, 1978
Scout S183C Stage 4 · re-entered August 9, 1978
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
Ariel is a series of British research satellites. Ariel 4 primary mission was to study ionosphere.
Pad
Space Launch Complex 5, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
39th launch from Space Launch Complex 5, 1st this year · 374th from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
69 launches from this pad · 919 from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
471 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did Ariel 4 launch?
Ariel 4 launched on December 11, 1971. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch Ariel 4?
No webcast is on record for this launch.
What rocket launched Ariel 4?
Scout B-1, flown by Science and Engineering Research Council. Scout B-1 spec sheet
Where did Ariel 4 launch from?
Space Launch Complex 5, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.
What orbit did Ariel 4 reach?
Ariel 4, one of 4 catalogued objects, reached a 482 × 599 km orbit inclined 83.0°.
How many satellites did Ariel 4 launch?
1 payload from this launch is catalogued, no longer in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).