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Ariel 5

Ariel 5 was a British-USA X-ray astronomy mission launched on 15 October 1974 into a low-inclination low Earth orbit. Its observatory monitored the X-ray sky and produced discoveries including long-period X-ray pulsars, bright transients, and iron-line emission in extragalactic sources.

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Identity

Aliases
Ariel 5Ariel VUK-5
Name
Ariel 5
Status
completed

Details

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Description
Ariel 5 was a British-USA X-ray astronomy mission launched on 15 October 1974 into a low-inclination low Earth orbit. Its observatory monitored the X-ray sky and produced discoveries including long-period X-ray pulsars, bright transients, and iron-line emission in extragalactic sources.
Destination
Low Earth orbit
End Date
1980-03-14
Outcome
Ariel 5 returned long-term X-ray monitoring and major high-energy astronomy discoveries before re-entering Earth atmosphere on 14 March 1980.
Start Date
1974-10-15
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Creation Time
August 1, 2026 at 17:16:13 UTC
Updated Time
August 1, 2026 at 17:16:13 UTC

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