| CAT-1 | |
| Mission Type: | Vehicle evaluation |
| Operator: | ESA |
| Cospar Id: | 1979-104A |
| Satcat: | 11645 |
| Mission Duration: | 8 orbits |
| Launch Date: | UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Ariane 1 |
| Launch Site: | Kourou ELA-1 |
| Decay Date: | 27 November 1989 |
| Orbit Epoch: | 23 January 1980[1] |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Geostationary transfer |
| Orbit Periapsis: | 182km (113miles) |
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 35824km (22,260miles) |
| Orbit Inclination: | 17.6 degrees |
| Orbit Period: | 631.45 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
CAT-1 (also Technological Capsule 1,[2] also Obélix[3]) was the first artificial Earth satellite launched by the European Space Agency on their own rocket, the Ariane 1. It was only intended to provide data on the launch characteristics of the new rocket and was only powered for 8 orbits.[4]
