Editing Vanguard 1 (section)

== After the mission ==
[[File:Vanguard 1 satellite sketch.png|thumb|upright=1.2|right|Vanguard 1 satellite sketch]]

After its scientific mission ended in 1964, Vanguard 1 became a [[:Category:Derelict satellites orbiting Earth|derelict]] [[space debris|object]] – as did the upper stage of the launch rocket, after it finished the [[delta-v]] maneuver to place Vanguard 1 in orbit in 1958. Both objects remain in orbit. Vanguard 1 was projected to remain aloft for up to 2,000 years, but solar radiation pressure and atmospheric drag perturbations during periods of high solar activity affected its perigee, reducing its lifetime, and now it is expected to burn up in the atmosphere in about 240 years, sometime in the late 22nd century. As space travel becomes routine, and especially when its re-entry date draws near, some have suggested that the satellite might be retrieved as a valued artifact of early space exploration.<ref> https://pages.vassar.edu/realarchaeology/2023/12/03/a-closer-look-at-the-archaeological-importance-of-the-vanguard-1/ </ref>

=== 50th anniversary ===
The Vanguard 1 satellite and upper launch stage hold the record for being in space longer than any other human-made object,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20171005-the-worlds-oldest-scientific-satellite-is-still-in-orbit|title=The world's oldest scientific satellite is still in orbit|first=Richard|last=Hollingham|publisher= BBC Future|date=2017-10-06|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007230117/http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20171005-the-worlds-oldest-scientific-satellite-is-still-in-orbit|archive-date=2017-10-07}}</ref><ref name="Erickson2010">{{cite book|author=Lance K. Erickson|title=Space Flight: History, Technology, and Operations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dr6R51cqQ6IC&pg=PA60|year=2010|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-86587-419-0|pages=60–}}</ref> and as such have traveled farther over the Earth's surface than any other human-made object.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://what-if.xkcd.com/86/|title=Far-Traveling Objects|website=what-if.xkcd.com|access-date=2019-05-16}}</ref>

A small group of former [[United States Naval Research Laboratory|NRL]] and [[NASA]] workers had been in communication with one another, and a number of government agencies were asked to commemorate the event. The Naval Research Laboratory commemorated the event with a day-long meeting at NRL on 17 March 2008.<ref name="anniversary">{{cite web|url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/nrl-vic031308.php |title=Vanguard I celebrates 50 years in space|date=13 March 2008|work=EurekAlert!|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605153254/http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/nrl-vic031308.php|archive-date=5 June 2013}}</ref> The meeting concluded with a simulation of the satellite's track as it passed into the orbital area visible from [[Washington, D.C.]], (where it is visible from the Earth's surface). The [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] scheduled seminars to mark the 50th anniversary of the [[International Geophysical Year]].<ref name="commemoration ">[http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=1241 Vanguard Approaches Half A Century In Space], SpaceRef Interactive, by Keith Cowing, November 4, 2007</ref>