(12201) Spink Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 1 March 1981 by S. J. Bus at Siding Spring.
James W. Spink (b. 1963) contributed to NASA's Lucy Trojan asteroid mission as the Program Manager for the Northrop Grumman UltraFlex solar array system. James and brothers Bill and Brad Jr. followed in the footsteps of their father Brad, who was an aerospace engineer on the Apollo program.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 1, #9, 10), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Spink is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Spink is 2.70 au from the Sun and 1.91 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12201 |
| Provisional designation | 1981 ED12 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.87 km (#15,527 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.410 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.64 |
| Orbital period | 3.97 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.51 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.31 – 2.71 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0790 |
| Inclination | 11.4° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.31 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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All asteroids named after someone called James
Also discovered on 1 March 1981
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