PAGEOS had a diameter of exactly 100 feet (30.48 m), consisted of a 0.5 mils (12.7 μm) thick mylar plastic film coated with vapour deposited aluminum enclosing a volume of about 524,000 cubic feet (14,800 m3)[8][9] The metal coating both reflected sunlight and protected the satellite from damaging ultraviolet waves. The satellite was launched in a canister, which explosively separated as it was ejected from the rocket. Then, the balloon was inflated through a combination of residual internal air and a mixture of benzoic acid and anthraquinone placed inside, which turned to gas when the satellite was exposed to the heat of the sun.[9] It was the first satellite specifically launched for use in geodetic surveying,[3] or measuring the shape of the earth, by serving as a reflective and photographic tracking target. At the time, it improved on terrestrial triangulations of the globe by about an order of magnitude.[4] The satellite, which carried no instrumentation, broke up between 1975 and 1976.

Wikipedia

This was super interesting to read about. I thought the picture surely had to be CG or AI created at first.

For those wondering: it was inflatable. So it didn't weigh very much and wasn't very big at launch. It then inflated to this huge size shown here.

This looks like such a non-human design that I would have mistaken it for a UFO if I found it in space.

Just like in that movie, Sphere, with Dustin Hoffman.

Haha whoa that looks so sick! It's huge!!!

Apparently it was up there for around a decade before breaking up, with one of the largest fragments finally "deorbiting" in 2016.

Flight of the Navigator vibes

I don't know what it is about the 1960s but I love the vibe of the technology. planes, cars, spaceships tended to have that chrome/bare metal look. i love it

As an origami fan I would be very interested to see how they managed to fold this thing up.

Getting Flight of the Navigator vibes.

Ohhhhhhhhh, it was a balloon. I knew no spacecraft before or since could lift up something that size in a single trip.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAGEOS

"Have you tried everything?"

"Everything, sir, it's completely impregnable."

"We must get inside. For all we know, something may be living or perhaps even dying inside this"

"It appears to be seamless--no way in, no way out."

With context my first thought was a still from a movie about capturing a UFO

I haven't watched Phantasm in a while

But where’s the giant hand holding it and the bearded Dutchman?

That’s no moon…

Where's the photographer in the reflection?

Photographer is hiding in plain sight. Really. I have no idea how they did this.

Reminds me of the tear drop scouts in the 3 body problem series