San Marco 1
| Mission type | Ionospheric Earth science Astrophysics |
|---|---|
| Operator | CNR |
| COSPAR ID | 1964-084A |
| SATCAT no. | 00957 |
| Mission duration | ~272 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 115.2 kilograms (254 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 15 December 1964, 20:24:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Scout X-4 |
| Launch site | Wallops LA-3A |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 13 September 1965 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Eccentricity | 0.0469 |
| Perigee altitude | 198.0 kilometres (123.0 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 846.0 kilometres (525.7 mi) |
| Inclination | 37.80 degrees |
| Period | 94.9 minutes |
| Epoch | 15 December 1964 20:24:00 UTC |
San Marco 1, also known as San Marco A, was the first Italian satellite. Built in-house by the Italian Space Research Commission (Italian: Commissione per le Ricerche Spaziali, CRS) on behalf of the National Research Council, it was the first of five as part of the Italian-US San Marco programme.
The name of the spacecraft series comes from the San Marco platform, a Jackup barge used as an offshore launch pad for the main phase of the project. San Marco (English: Saint Mark) is the patron saint of Venice, often depicted as aiding Venetian sailors.