Engineers Want To Bring Home the World's Oldest Satellite

Launched in 1958, the 'awkward-looking' Vanguard-1 satellite ('the size of a grapefruit') is the oldest artificial object orbiting Earth.
'A team of researchers and engineers want to retrieve the satellite for closer inspection and are currently working to find a way to bring Vanguard-1 home,' writes Gizmodo:

Other satellites of its time have reentered through Earth's atmosphere, burning up in a fiery death, but Vanguard-1 is still in orbit, silently zooming through the void of space... A team of researchers and engineers from Virginia-based consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton have put together a proposal on how to retrieve the satellite from space, bringing it back to Earth to study how its equipment has fared over the years, according to a report by Space.com. The team's proposal is detailed in a study published in the Aerospace Research Center earlier this year...

Considering how old Vanguard-1 is, the astronauts would need to handle it with care, according to the team behind the proposal. Before a retrieval attempt, the team suggests that a spacecraft be sent to rendezvous with the satellite to inspect its condition up-close. The engineers suggested partnering with a wealthy space enthusiast willing to fund the outer space venture, or using a SpaceX vehicle to bring the satellite home. Once it's brought back to Earth, experts would examine Vanguard-1 to assess its condition — whether it was struck by space debris, if it's still holding together, and how its time in orbit has affected the satellite. The satellite could then be placed at the Smithsonian for display as a sort of time capsule, a reminder of the history of spaceflight, the team suggests.

'Future missions (space debris removal, materials capture for on-orbit manufacturing, and even deep space exploration) could build on techniques demonstrated in the retrieval of Vanguard 1,' the paper read. 'Retrieving Vanguard 1 would be a challenge, but an achievable and invaluable step forward for the entire U.S. space community.'
'The researchers suggest that the satellite can be placed in a lower orbit and snagged from space, or reeled into the International Space Station,' according to the article.

Space.com shares this assessment from Bill Raynor, the associate superintendent of the Naval Research Laboratory's spacecraft engineering division. 'For material and radiation effects scientists and engineers, it would be an unprecedented opportunity for investigating the effects of long-term space environmental exposure.'
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader AmiMoJo for sharing the news.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.