swap_horiz GOES-16 Alternatives

1

Sputnik 1

Sputnik 1 was a polished metal sphere with radio transmitters, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. Its significance li...

Cold War Satellite Soviet First

9.2 Excellent

2

Explorer 1

Explorer 1 was the first artificial satellite successfully placed in Earth orbit by the United States. Launched in 1958,...

Cold War Satellite Nasa Earth Orbit

9.2 Excellent

3

Telstar 1

Telstar 1 was a pioneering American communications satellite launched in 1962 by AT&T. Its significance lies in being th...

Cold War Att Satellite Communications

9.2 Excellent

4

Curiosity rover

The Curiosity rover is a NASA spacecraft exploring Mars. Launched in November 2011, it landed in Gale Crater in August 2...

Nasa Mars Rover Current

9.2 Excellent

5

SpaceX Crew Dragon

The SpaceX Crew Dragon is a spacecraft designed for transporting cargo and astronauts to Earth orbit. Notably, it repres...

Commercial Spacex Current Crewed

9.1 Excellent

6

Perseverance rover

The Perseverance rover is an American spacecraft exploring Mars. It’s currently operating within Jezero Crater, searchin...

Nasa Mars Rover Astrobiology

9.1 Excellent

7

TOPEX/Poseidon

A joint NASA/CNES satellite launched in 1992 that measured global sea-surface topography with radar altimetry, transform...

Ocean Satellite Completed Altimetry

9.0 Excellent

8

Early Bird (Intelsat I)

First commercial geostationary communications satellite, launched April 1965, providing the first reliable transatlantic...

Cold War Geostationary Satellite Communications

8.9 Great

9

Yutu-2 rover

China's second lunar rover, delivered by Chang'e 4 in January 2019 to the Moon's far side, making it the first rover eve...

Rover Moon Current Far Side

8.7 Great

10

SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory)

NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory launched in 2010 that continuously observes the Sun in multiple extreme-ultraviolet wave...

Solar Nasa Observatory Current

8.7 Great

11

Mars Odyssey

NASA orbiter launched in 2001 that became the longest-operating spacecraft at Mars, and detected hydrogen deposits sugge...

Nasa Mars Current Orbiter

8.6 Great

12

Vanguard 1

American satellite launched March 17, 1958, the oldest human-made object still orbiting Earth and the first satellite po...

Cold War Solar Powered Satellite Nasa

8.5 Great

13

Chinese Space Station (Tiangong)

China's modular permanent space station assembled in low Earth orbit, beginning with the launch of its Tianhe core modul...

Modular Chinese Space Station Current

8.5 Great

14

Soyuz-MS

Russian crewed spacecraft introduced in 2016, featuring upgraded communications, navigation systems, and docking equipme...

Russian Transport Current Crewed

8.4 Great

15

Swift (Neil Gehrels Observatory)

NASA Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory launched in 2004, designed to detect gamma-ray bursts and autonomously repoint withi...

Nasa Observatory Current Multi Wavelength

8.3 Great

16

MMS (Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission)

NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, launched in 2015, uses four identical spacecraft flying in close formation to...

Nasa Current Magnetosphere Probe

8.3 Great

17

Jason-1

A joint NASA/CNES ocean altimetry satellite launched in 2001 as the direct successor to TOPEX/Poseidon, continuing preci...

Ocean Satellite Completed Altimetry

8.2 Great

18

Sputnik 2

Soviet spacecraft launched November 3, 1957, that carried the dog Laika, making her the first living animal to orbit Ear...

Cold War Satellite Soviet Earth Orbit

8.1 Great

19

GPM Core Observatory

NASA/JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory launched in 2014 to measure global rain and snowfall rates,...

Satellite Weather Current Nasa Jaxa

8.0 Great

20

Jason-3

A joint NASA/CNES/EUMETSAT/NOAA satellite launched in 2016 that continues the multi-decadal global sea-surface height me...

Ocean Satellite Current Altimetry

8.0 Great