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Program: Vanguard. Objective: Technology. Overview: Relatively unsuccessful program to launch the United States first artifical satellite of the earth.
Major Events:

  • 1955 August 1 - Vanguard selected to launch first US satellite..  Spacecraft: Vanguard 1. Launch Vehicle: Vanguard.

    Ad Hoc Committee on Special Capabilities rejects Army/Von Brauns's Project Orbiter (Redstone) and USAF Atlas proposals; selects Navy/Vanguard for first US satellite.

  • 1955 October 7 - Vanguard contract awarded..  Spacecraft: Vanguard 1. Launch Vehicle: Vanguard.

    Prime contract for Project Vanguard awarded the Martin Co.

  • 1957 April 11 - Vanguard payload tested on sounding rocket..  Launch Vehicle: Vanguard.

    U.S.-IGY scientific satellite equipment, including a radio transmitter and instruments for measuring temperature, pressure, cosmic rays, and meteoric dust encounters, was tested above earth for the first time, as a rocket containing this equipment was fired by the Navy to a 126-mile altitude.

  • 1957 May 1 - Vanguard suborbital test..  Spacecraft: Vanguard 1. Launch Vehicle: Vanguard.

    Vanguard Test Vehicle (TV-1), a modified Martin Viking first-stage and Vanguard solid-propellant third-stage Grand Central Rocket as second-stage, launched with instrumented nose cone to an altitude of 121 miles and met all test objectives.

  • 1957 October 1 - Vanguard tracking system operational..  Spacecraft: Vanguard 1. Launch Vehicle: Vanguard.

    Project Vanguard world-wide tracking system (minitrack) became operational.

  • 1957 October 9 - Vanguard supported by Eisenhower..  Spacecraft: Vanguard 1. Launch Vehicle: Vanguard.

    President Eisenhower in a White House press release congratulated the Soviet scientists on SPUTNIK I. He gave a brief history of the development of the U.S.-IGY satellite program and pointed to the separation of Project Vanguard from work on ballistic missiles.

  • 1957 December 6 - Vanguard 1A.  Spacecraft: Vanguard 1. Mass: 1.00 kg (2.20 lb). Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Vanguard.

    First US orbital attempt. IGY Vanguard (TV-3), the first with three live stages, failed to launch a test satellite.

  • 1958 February 5 - Vanguard 1B.  Spacecraft: Vanguard 1. Mass: 1.00 kg (2.20 lb). Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Vanguard.

    Trial firing of IGY Vanguard (TV-3Bu) satellite.

  • 1958 March 17 - Vanguard 1.  Spacecraft: Vanguard 1. Mass: 2.00 kg (4.40 lb). Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Vanguard.

    Transmitted pear-shaped earth data. Life expectancy of perhaps a 1,000 years. The satellite had a mass of 1.6 kg and a diameter of 175 cm.

  • 1959 February 17 - Vanguard 2.  Spacecraft: Vanguard 2. Mass: 10 kg (22 lb). Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Vanguard.

    Operated for 18 days; satellite wobble degraded data.

  • 1959 September 18 - Vanguard 3.  Spacecraft: Vanguard 3. Mass: 23 kg (50 lb). Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Vanguard.

    Radiation, micrometeoroid data. Third stage failed to separate from payload. The TV-4BU burned-out third stage was left attached to the payload since the fiberglas case did not adversely affect the experiments.

  • 1960 March 17 - Vanguard second anniversary..  Spacecraft: Vanguard 1. Launch Vehicle: Vanguard.

    VANGUARD I still in orbit and transmitting on its second anniversary after traveling 131,318,211 miles. NASA reported that VANGUARD I orbit was being altered by solar pressure.

  • 1961 March 17 - Vanguard third anniversary..  Spacecraft: Vanguard 1. Launch Vehicle: Vanguard.

    Vanguard I completed third year in orbit and was still transmitting. Vanguard I provided much useful data on orbits, including the slight pear-shape of the Earth and the effect of solar pressure. Vanguard also provided the second stage for the Able, Delta, and Able-Star, as well as the third stage of Scout, pioneering solid-propellant stages used in Polaris and Minuteman.

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© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.