The Naming of Satellites

On January 1, a change in the international system for designating satellites and space probes went into effect. Previously, satellites had been designated order of the Greek alphabet, beginning anew each year; thus the first satellite of 1958 was 1958 Alpha, the second, 1958 Beta, and so forth. From now on, Arabic numerals will replace the Greek letters; the first launching of 1963 will be 1963–1, followed by 1963–2, etc. Since a single launching often places a number objects in different orbits (one or more payloads plus the burned‐out rocket casing), the new system also provides that the main component will be denoted by the suffix A, the next most important by B, and so on down to inert components. Under the old system, the navigation satellite. Transit II‐A, its piggyback companion, Greb, and their spent rocket were designated 1960 Eta 1, 1960 Eta 2, and 1960 Eta 3, respectively. Had the new system then been in force, they would have been called 196O–7A, 1960–7B, all 1960–7C. The change was agreed upon last year by all national members of the Committee on Space Research of the International Council of Scientific Unions.