60-year-old US satellite is oldest man-made object in space
Launched on March 17, 1958, US satellite Vanguard I remains the oldest man-made object in space. It was the fourth satellite in Earth's orbit following Soviet's Sputnik I, II and the US' Explorer I while the first three disintegrated in Earth's atmosphere due to decaying orbits. nAlthough Vanguard no longer transmits signals, researchers continue to use its ground-based orbital data.