Vanguard 1

Vanguard 1 was launched on March 17th, 1958 and was the second satellite launched by the United States following its launch of Explorer 1 and the Soviet Union’s launch of the Sputnik probes in late 1957. Vanguard 1 was launched on board the Vanguard Launch Vehicle TV-4. Vanguard 1 onse put into orbit collected valuable data on Earth’s shape, Air Density, and Temerature Ranges. Vanguard 1 was about the size of a Grape Fruit and could be held in the palm of ones hand, it optained power from six small solar cells mounted on the main body. To communicate data to the surface it used six offset antennas. Vanguard 1’s launch wasnt an easy feat by any means. Its first attempted launch was on December 6th, 1957 and title Vanguard 1(TV-3). The Launch Vehicle successfully got 7 feet of the pad then dropped back down and exploded launching Vanguard 1(TV-3) into a nearby field, Project Vanguard was a lauphing stock in American and Soviet news papers alike which called the little satellite “Flopnik” and “Kaputnik.” Another launch was attempted in January 1958 title Vanguard 1(TV-3 Backup) which also ended in a massive explosion. Vanguard 1 is still currently orbiting and will continue to do so for another 240 years give or take due to its high location in Earth’s low orbit.

Heres Vanguard 1(TV-3) sortly before its failed launch

Here’s Vanguard 1(TV-3) being observed by Naval Research Laboratory scientists in a mock up launch vehicle top.

Here’s a photo prediction from 1958 of what Vanguard 1 would look like in orbit.