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HISTORIC · NORAD 5

Track Vanguard 1 live

Launched in 1958, Vanguard 1 is the oldest human-made object still in orbit. Long dead, this grapefruit-sized satellite will circle Earth for centuries — itself a piece of historic space junk.

Last updated: · Catalog refreshed daily.

Watch Vanguard 1 on the live 3D globe →

Opens the interactive Space Junk View globe and flies the camera to Vanguard 1 in real time.

What you're looking at

Space Junk View renders all 31,328 cataloged objects in Earth orbit — active satellites, dead satellites, spent rocket bodies and debris — and propagates every one of them live in your browser from the public CelesTrak element sets. Vanguard 1 is one of the notable objects you can lock onto and follow as it circles the planet.

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