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Ariel 1
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<p>Ariel 1 (also known as UK-1 and S-55), was the first British-American <a href="/facts/Satellite/PTX8c68t">satellite</a>, and the first satellite in the <a href="/facts/Ariel_programme/RoQTpqhB">Ariel programme</a>. Its launch in 1962 made the United Kingdom the third country to operate a satellite, after the <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">Soviet Union</a> and the United States. It was constructed in the UK and the United States by <a href="/facts/NASA_Goddard_Space_Flight_Center/WfoEKknM">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> and <a href="/facts/Science_and_Engineering_Research_Council/LkjUJeFS">SERC</a>, under an agreement reached as the result of political discussions in 1959 and 1960. The US <a href="/facts/Starfish_Prime/8cIMdeqQ">Starfish Prime</a> exoatmospheric nuclear test affected Ariel 1's operational capability. </p>