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Trailblazer 1
Part of Trailblazer test vehicle
American test vehicle. The rocket's first three stages would take the upper stage package to a 260 km apogee. The upper stage package was mounted upside-down in relation to the other stages. When it had reached the peak, the three upper stages fired in sequence, ramming the payload, a 13 cm sphere, into the atmosphere at orbital re-entry speeds.

Status: Retired 1963. First Launch: 1959-03-03. Last Launch: 1963-02-16. Number: 15 . Payload: 1.00 kg (2.20 lb). Thrust: 365.00 kN (82,055 lbf). Gross mass: 3,400 kg (7,400 lb). Height: 17.10 m (56.10 ft). Diameter: 0.58 m (1.90 ft). Span: 2.61 m (8.56 ft). Apogee: 280 km (170 mi).

Different materials were used in the sphere in each test, and ground observations were made of the spectra and luminance of the 'artificial meteorites' thus created.

On the 1G mission, an actual 'artificial meteorite' was flown. This was a 5.8 g steel pellet, which was driven into the atmosphere at 6 km/sec by a 'seventh stage', a shaped charge that accelerated the pellet after burnout of the rocket's six stage. This experiment provided a known reference by which the size of actual meteoroids could be measured according to the luminance of their trails.

The vehicle consisted of an Honest John rocket as the first stage, topped by 1 x Nike and 1 x Lance. The upside-down upper-stage package consisted of 1 x T-40 + 1 x T-55 + 1 x Cygnus 5 motors.

Payload: 1.00 kg (2.20 lb) to a 280 km altitude.

More at: Trailblazer 1.
Family: test vehicle. Country: USA. Launch Sites: Wallops Island. Stages: TX-77, M-6, Cygnus 5, M5E1, T-40, T-55. Agency: NASA Langley.
1959 March 3 - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1959 June 5 - . 04:15 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1959 December 1 - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1960 March 29 - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1960 June 26 - . 06:17 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1960 August 29 - . 03:38 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1960 August 29 - . 06:13 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1960 October 22 - . 03:09 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1961 January 18 - . 04:00 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1961 April 21 - . 05:56 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1961 May 18 - . 06:10 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1961 September 17 - . 04:47 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1962 April 3 - . 04:57 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1962 July 28 - . 02:50 GMT - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
1963 February 16 - . Launch Site: Wallops Island. LV Family: Trailblazer test vehicle. Launch Vehicle: Trailblazer 1.
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