Junk or Treasure? [Microwave Surfing]

The oldest human object in space, our first piece of genuine space archaeology, is the US satellite Vanguard 1, launched as part of the IGY [International Geophysical Year, 1957–1958] program. It’s a polished sphere of aluminum just 16 cm in diameter, weighing 1.47 kilograms…On the outside are six 5-cm-square solar cells, as well as six antennas oriented at right angles to each other…Vanguard 1 has become significant by lasting the distance. In 2018, it was sixty years old. Its high orbit protects it from being pulled back into the atmosphere in the short term.