193
PAGEOS Satellite (1966) (sh.itjust.works)
all 41 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] QuarterSwede@lemmy.world 57 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

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.

[-] thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org 11 points 3 weeks ago

Over five years, 16 groups conducted observations at 45 globally distributed stations, about 3000-4000 km apart from each other.[4][7][12] 12 mobile tracking stations were used, which observed during favorable weather conditions during a few minutes of twilight each evening.[7][why?][clarification needed] BC4 cameras were used to photograph the satellite.[12] Observations were taken when the satellite was visible simultaneously to multiple stations at the same time.[12] This resulted in the fixing of the precise locations of 38 different points around the world.[4] This could be used to help determine the precise locations of the continents relative to each other, and to help determine the precise shape and size of the earth.

that is amazing! so cool

[-] XeroxCool@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

And it sounds like it was usable for 9 years. That's impressive for a very thin balloon surrounded by 50,000mph dust particles

[-] DrownedRats@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

That'd actually very similar to how trig points work! It's a giant orbiting trig point. Someone call the ordnance survey!

[-] bcgm3@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

I thought the picture surely had to be CG or AI created at first.

Same... This photo is so surreal, I immediately thought of Simon Stalenhag.

[-] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Remember this experience when someone "knows" something is AI because It's "obvious", and don't call me Shirley!

[-] b3an@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

At first I was like, what AI is this… Oho. Very cool!

[-] Thorry84@feddit.nl 28 points 3 weeks ago

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.

[-] Gork@sopuli.xyz 16 points 3 weeks ago

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

[-] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

You may want to sit down, because I'm about to rock your world.

[-] sxan@midwest.social 2 points 3 weeks ago

Aliens!

I want to believe!

[-] houndeyes@toast.ooo 14 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

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

[-] Evthestrike@lemm.ee 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I read the book! Michael Crichton. Same guy who wrote Jurassic park

[-] addie@feddit.uk 0 points 3 weeks ago

I really like the book - I think it's one of his best. Subtle 'unreliable narrator' mind-fuck from beginning to end, nicely written and characterised. The film of it is an abomination, though.

[-] BackgrndNoize@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

I've not read the book yet but I've seen the movie and it's enjoyable by itself, maybe not a great adaptation, but still it was not terrible

[-] obinice@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

You know its reflective surface? Well, uh...

I hate to be the one non-scientist that picks this up, guys....

...What worries me is that it's reflecting everything but us.

[-] rayquetzalcoatl@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago

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.

[-] AlexLost@lemm.ee 12 points 3 weeks ago

Flight of the Navigator vibes

[-] Maiq@lemy.lol 5 points 3 weeks ago

I don't leak navigator, you leak.

[-] frenchfryenjoyer@lemmings.world 11 points 3 weeks ago

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

[-] slippyferret@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 3 weeks ago

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

[-] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

Getting Flight of the Navigator vibes.

[-] raynethackery@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Compliance!

[-] Beacon@fedia.io 3 points 3 weeks ago

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

[-] Shardikprime@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

"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."

[-] scytale@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 weeks ago
[-] blueamigafan@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

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

[-] SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org 3 points 3 weeks ago

'Sphere' and 'Navigator' come to mind...

[-] Widdershins@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

I haven't watched Phantasm in a while

[-] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

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

[-] Deceptichum@quokk.au 1 points 3 weeks ago
[-] DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone 1 points 3 weeks ago
[-] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago

Almost looks like the Sphere in that movie Sphere.

[-] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago

Or the giant ball bearing in Ball Bearing.

[-] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Something something Spaceballs.

[-] PrimeMinisterKeyes@leminal.space 1 points 3 weeks ago

Where's the photographer in the reflection?

[-] rumba@lemmy.zip 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

The center line of lights in the reflection is higher than the location on the wall, which leads me to believe that the photographer is just above vertical center. * Due to the nature of photographing a sphere horizontally they would have to be exactly centered.

I think they're somewhere around here

[-] dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

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

[-] DaPorkchop_@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 weeks ago

I think they're on the end of the catwalk right above the small building in the corner, which would make sense since they'd have to appear in the middle of the sphere unless the image is cropped. Hard to be sure with this resolution, but I'd bet those few lighter pixels are the person holding the camera.

[-] O_R_I_O_N@lemm.ee 1 points 3 weeks ago

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

this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2025
193 points (99.5% liked)

pics

23619 readers
115 users here now

Rules:

1.. Please mark original photos with [OC] in the title if you're the photographer

2..Pictures containing a politician from any country or planet are prohibited, this is a community voted on rule.

3.. Image must be a photograph, no AI or digital art.

4.. No NSFW/Cosplay/Spam/Trolling images.

5.. Be civil. No racism or bigotry.

Photo of the Week Rule(s):

1.. On Fridays, the most upvoted original, marked [OC], photo posted between Friday and Thursday will be the next week's banner and featured photo.

2.. The weekly photos will be saved for an end of the year run off.

Weeks 2023

Instance-wide rules always apply. https://mastodon.world/about

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS