Aug. 11, 1960: 1st Object Successfully Recovered from Orbit

On August eleventh, nineteen sixty, Discoverer thirteen became the first human-made object successfully recovered from Earth's orbit. Per Space.com, the Defense Department reconnaissance satellite deployed a heat shield and parachute, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean where a Navy helicopter retrieved the roughly one hundred twenty pound capsule. This success demonstrated that objects could withstand reentry's extreme heat and speed and return to Earth intact—a principle that became essential to modern spaceflight.

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