VANGUARD 1 - OLDEST MAN-MADE OBJECT IN SPACE

Vanguard 1 is an American satellite that was the fourth artificial Earth orbital satellite to be successfully launched (following Sputnik 1, Sputnik 2, and Explorer 1). Although communication with the satellite was lost in 1964, it remains the oldest man-made object still in orbit, together with the upper stage of its launch vehicle. Original estimates had the orbit lasting for 2,000 years, but it was discovered that solar radiation pressure and atmospheric drag caused a significant decrease in its expected lifetime to only 240 years. (In other words, Vanguard 1 will retain the record as being the oldest man-made object in space until the year 2198). Vanguard 1 also holds the record of having traveled farther over the Earth’s surface than any other man-made object.

Artist's Rendition of Vanguard 1 in Orbit

SPUTNIK 4

On September 5, 1962, a 20 pound piece of the 7 ton Sputnik 4 spacecraft crashed onto North Eighth Street east of the Rahr-West Museum in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The impact location is marked with a ring. A cast was made from the original piece before the Soviets claimed it, and the cast is on display at the museum.

The city holds an annual Sputnikfest celebration.

Sputnik 4 crash site in Manitowoc, Wisconsin

LOTTIE WILLIAMS - THE ONLY HUMAN TO HAVE EVER BEEN HIT BY SPACE DEBRIS

On April 24, 1996, the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) launched an MSX satellite on a Delta II booster from Vandenberg AFB, California. 

The only person on record ever hit by space debris was hit by a piece of the Delta II rocket that launched MSX.

Lottie Williams was exercising in a park in Tulsa on January 22, 1997 when she was hit in the shoulder by a 6 inch piece of blackened metallic material. U.S. Space Command confirmed that a used Delta II rocket from the April 1966 launch of the Midcourse Space Experiment had crashed into the atmosphere 30 minutes earlier. The object tapped Lottie Williams on the shoulder and fell off harmlessly onto the ground. Williams collected the item and NASA tests later showed the fragment was consistent with the materials of the rocket.

HUMANS IN SPACE

The last time all living humans were on Earth at the same time was November 1, 2000.