Passive satellites

sports car launched into space in 2018

first passive communications satellite experiment

American satellite

Ajisai (Japanese: あじさい, meaning "Hydrangea") is a Japanese satellite sponsored by NASDA, launched in 1986 on the maiden flight of the H-I rocket. It is also known as the Experimental Geodetic Satellite (EGS), as it carries the Experimental Geodetic Payload (EGP).

PAGEOS (PAssive Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite) was a balloon satellite which was launched by NASA in June 1966. It was the first satellite specifically launched for use in geodetic surveying, or measuring the shape of the earth, by serving as a reflective and photographic tracking target. At the time, it improved on terrestrial triangulations of the globe by about an order of magnitude. The satellite, which carried no instrumentation, broke up between 1975 and 1976. One of the largest fragments of the satellite finally deorbited in 2016.

passive small satellite designed to reflect sunlight

NASA satellite

Orbiting Vehicle 1-8 (also known as OV1-8, OV1-8P,PasComSat, and Gridsphere), launched 14 July 1966, was the seventh satellite launched (fourth successfully) in the OV1 series of the United States Air Force's Orbiting Vehicle program. OV1-8 was designed to test the passive communications utility of an aluminum grid sphere versus a balloon satellite (e.g. NASA's Project Echo).