What can an ordinary aluminum sphere put into the Earth's orbit give to science? (4 photos)

Space age technology is said to be incredibly complex and represent the pinnacle of human thought. However, on May 6, 1965, Earth orbit was sent to a surprisingly simple object: aluminum sphere, which had a little more than a meter in diameter. She didn't measure anything. kept in touch with the earth. It was just a hollow ball.





Almost six decades have passed, and the ball is still in space and continues to do what is required of him. By that simple reason that you can be useful in this form - without antennas, instruments and people on board. This object is called the "Gauge Sphere Lincoln 1" (LCS-1).

The sphere was made by the Lincoln Lab. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The engineers understood how it is useful to have an object in space with precisely known characteristics. Instruments put into service need to be calibrated and this the process is especially important if the equipment is intended for the study phenomena that have not yet provided relevant data for comparison.

Initially, the LCS was intended to test radars: waves of these devices are reflected from objects in space, while analysis of information regarding how much of the signal was lost along the way and was distorted, as well as how long it took him to return, allows you to get an idea of how, for example, about spacecraft, and about an asteroid.

To ensure the accuracy of these data, you need to understand how the atmosphere and radar antennas affect the radio signal. It is for this and need LCS. The spherical shape makes it look the same from everyone sides. The cube, for example, is completely unsuitable in this incarnation - in front it It doesn't seem to be the same from one angle or another.



It is intuitively clear that the sphere used for calibration, must be at a constant distance from the Earth. This indeed, and its orbit is 2800 km away from the Earth's surface and is an almost perfect circle. It's five times further than the trajectory of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Interesting fact: the engineers made several identical spheres, and some of them never left the Earth - they were needed to test the mechanics of radio wave reflection and confirm the quality of the signal coming from space.

LCS-1 is not the first calibration sphere launched into space, but its advantages were its large size and harmonious "round" orbit. ABOUT such tools are usually not written in newspapers, but they have great help to the scientific community. Lincoln Gauge Sphere 1 started doing it right after launch.

In 1966, radars tuned thanks to the aluminum sphere studied the moon - as a result, irregularities were demonstrated the surface of our satellite and made assumptions about the composition of the local regolith. Complementing these data with information obtained by lunar probes, scientists have identified points of the terrain that are most favorable for landing astronauts.





Decades of being in space did not pass without a trace for LCS-1. In 2012, a report was published stating that the sphere no longer shines as brightly as before, and the light it reflects changes intensity in a predictable way. This indicates that that the LCS-1 is spinning and most likely has a dent on it. This is hardly surprising, given the lifetime of the facility. James Webb Telescope damaged just a few months after unfolded his mirrors.

But minor damage to the LCS-1 did not prevent scientists use it in conjunction with the "LCS-4" - a twin, launched on 850 km orbit in 1971. Tracking the trajectory of two these spheres, they measured how much the atmosphere expands and contracts Earth depending on the intensity of solar activity. This is very practical information.

With increased activity of the Sun, the air envelope of the planet "swells up", causing low-orbiting satellites to begin to experience stronger environmental resistance. It may threaten to leave a stable trajectory and then fall into atmosphere.



Also, with the help of LCS-1, scientists learned to track the movement space debris - from spent rocket stages to lost ones wrenches. Today around the planet at a speed of more than 7 kilometers per tens of tons rotate per secondThousands of useless debris. They pose a serious danger to both satellites and operating in human orbit. The problem of space debris has been described many times, so it makes no sense to talk about it again.

Finally, let's dive into the realm of science fiction. IN nineties, a group of engineers proposed the use of gauge satellites to test super-powerful lasers, which are believed to able to give the necessary acceleration to spacecraft, going not only to interplanetary, but also to interstellar travel.

As you can see, while the LCS-1 revolves around the Earth and keeps its functionality, there is work for it. Despite the fact that this just a hollow, unremarkable aluminum sphere.