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Vanguard Rocket
Vanguard Rocket

Project Vanguard was a program managed by the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), which intended to launch the first artificial satellite into Earth orbit using a Vanguard rocket as the launch vehicle. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps and conducts a This article is about artificial satellites For natural satellites also known as moons see Natural satellite. EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 In Physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of one object around a point or another body for example the gravitational orbit of a planet around a star The Vanguard rocket was intended to be the first Launch vehicle the United States would use to place a Satellite into orbit In Spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a Rocket used to carry a payload from the Earth's surface into Outer space.

In response to the surprise launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, the U. The Sputnik crisis was a turning point of the Cold War that began on October 4, 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 1 Sputnik 1 ( "Спутник-1", "Satellite-1" ПС-1 ( PS-1, i Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) S. restarted the Explorer program, which had been proposed earlier by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA). The Explorer program was the United States 's first successful attempt to launch an artificial satellite. Together with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), ABMA built Explorer 1 in 84 days and launched it on January 31, 1958. Explorer 1 (officially titled at NASA as satellite 1958 Alpha) was the first Earth Satellite of the United States, launched on February 1 Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Before work was completed, however, the Soviet Union launched a second satellite, Sputnik 2, on November 3, 1957. Mission profile Sputnik 2 was launched into a 212 x 1660 km (132 x 1031 mile orbit with a period of 103 Events 644 - Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim Caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) Meanwhile the spectacular televised failure of Vanguard TV3 on December 6, 1957 deepened American dismay over the country's position in the Space Race. Vanguard TV3 was the first attempt of the United States to launch a Satellite into Orbit around the Earth. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) The Space Race was a competition of space exploration between the Soviet Union and the United States, which lasted roughly from 1957 to 1975

On March 17, 1958, Vanguard 1 became the second artificial satellite successfully placed in Earth orbit by the United States. Events 45 BC - In his last victory Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Vanguard 1 was the fourth artificial Satellite launched and is the oldest still orbiting Earth though there is no longer any communication with it It was the first solar-powered satellite. Solar energy is the Light and radiant heat from the Sun that powers Earth 's Climate and Weather and sustains Life Just 152 mm (6 in) in diameter and weighing just 1. 4 kg (3 lb), Vanguard I was described by then-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev as, "The grapefruit satellite. Premier of the Soviet Union is the commonly used English term for the offices of Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (Председатель Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (April 17 1894 – September 11 1971 served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 following "[1]

Vanguard 1 is the oldest artificial satellite still in space. Vanguard's predecessors, Sputnik 1, Sputnik 2 and Explorer 1 have fallen out of orbit. Sputnik 1 ( "Спутник-1", "Satellite-1" ПС-1 ( PS-1, i Mission profile Sputnik 2 was launched into a 212 x 1660 km (132 x 1031 mile orbit with a period of 103 Explorer 1 (officially titled at NASA as satellite 1958 Alpha) was the first Earth Satellite of the United States, launched on February 1

Contents

Project history

As part of planning for the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958), the U. The International Geophysical Year or IGY was an international scientific effort that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958 S. publicly undertook to place an artificial satellite with a scientific experiment into orbit around the Earth.

The three services' proposals

Proposals to do this were presented by the United States Air Force, the United States Army, and the United States Navy. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. The Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) under Dr. Wernher von Braun had suggested using a modified Redstone rocket (see: Juno I) while the Air Force had proposed using the Atlas rocket, which did not yet exist. Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun (March 23 1912 &ndash June 16 1977 a German rocket physicist and astronautics engineer became one of the leading figures in First launched in 1953 the American Redstone Rocket (Redstone missile was a direct descendant of the German V-2. The Juno I was a satellite Launch vehicle, derived from and commonly confused with the Jupiter-C sounding rocket The SM-65 Atlas was a missile built by the Convair Division of General Dynamics. The Navy proposed designing a rocket system based on the Viking and Aerobee rocket systems, for the purposes of launching the first US satellite. A rocket or rocket vehicle is a Missile, Aircraft or other Vehicle which obtains Thrust by the reaction of the The Viking rocket series of Sounding rockets were designed and built by the Glenn L The Aerobee rocket was a small (8 m unguided suborbital Sounding rocket used for high atmospheric and Cosmic radiation research in the United States The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This article is about artificial satellites For natural satellites also known as moons see Natural satellite.

The Air Force proposal was not seriously considered, as Atlas development was years behind the other vehicles. Among other limitations, the Army submission focused on the vehicle, while a payload was assumed to become available from JPL, and the network of ground tracking stations was assumed to be a Navy project. Meanwhile, the NRL proposal detailed all three aspects of the mission.

In August 1955, the DOD Committee on Special Capabilities chose the Navy's proposal as it appeared most likely, by spring 1958, to fulfill the following:

Another consideration was that the Navy proposal used civilian sounding rockets rather than military missiles, which were considered inappropriate for peaceful scientific exploration. The United States Department of Defense ( DOD or DoD) is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government In Physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of one object around a point or another body for example the gravitational orbit of a planet around a star The International Geophysical Year or IGY was an international scientific effort that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958 Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding In scientific inquiry an experiment ( Latin: Ex- periri, "to try out" is a method of investigating particular types of research questions or A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying Rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during What went unstated at the time was that the US already had a covert satellite program underway, WS-117, which was developing the ability to launch spy satellites using USAF Thor IRBMs. The US government was concerned that the Soviets would object to military satellites overflying the Soviet Union as they had to many aircraft incursions and the balloons of the Genetrix project. The idea was that if a clearly "civilian" and 'scientific' satellite went up first, the Soviets might not object, and thus the precedent would be established that 'space' was above national boundaries. Air rights are a type of development right in Real estate. Generally speaking owning or renting land or a Building gives one the right to use and develop the empty

Designated Project Vanguard, the program was placed under Navy management and DoD monitorship. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington was given overall responsibility, while initial funding came from the National Science Foundation. The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps and conducts a The National Science Foundation (NSF is a United States Government agency that supports fundamental Research and Education in all the non-medical The director was John P. Hagen (1908–1990), an astronomer who in 1958 would become the assistant director of space flight development with the formation of NASA[1]. The initial 1. 4 kg spherical Vanguard satellites (designated "Test Vehicles" prior to launch) were built at the NRL, and contained as their payload seven mercury cell batteries in a hermetically sealed container, two tracking radio transmitters, a temperature sensitive crystal, and six clusters of solar cells on the surface of the sphere. Mercury (ˈmɜrkjʊri also called quicksilver or hydrargyrum, is a Chemical element with the symbol Hg ( Latinized hydrargyrum In electronics a battery is a combination of two or more Electrochemical cells which store chemical Energy which can be converted into electrical energy A hermetic seal is a seal which for practical purposes is considered airtight A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts Solar energy into Electricity by the photovoltaic effect.

NRL was also responsible for developing the launch vehicles, developing and installing the satellite tracking system, and designing, constructing, and testing the satellites. The tracking system was called Minitrack. The Minitrack stations, designed by NRL but subcontracted to the Army Corps of Engineers, were along a North-South line running along the east coast of North America and the west coast of South America. The United States Army Corps of Engineers ( USACE) is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 34600 Civilian and 650 Military personnel Minitrack was the forerunner of another NRL-developed system called NAVSPASUR, which remains operational today under the control of the Air Force and is a major producer of spacecraft tracking data. The Air Force Space Surveillance System, colloquially known as the Space Fence, is a Multistatic radar system that detects orbital objects passing over America

Sputnik and Explorer 1

TV-3 on display at NASM
TV-3 on display at NASM

On October 4, 1957, the Vanguard team learned of the launch of Sputnik 1 by the USSR while still working on a test vehicle (TV-2) designed to test the first stage of their launcher rocket. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Sputnik 1 ( "Спутник-1", "Satellite-1" ПС-1 ( PS-1, i After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, on November 3, 1957, then Secretary of Defense Neil H. McElroy directed the Army to use the Juno I and launch a satellite. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Mission profile Sputnik 2 was launched into a 212 x 1660 km (132 x 1031 mile orbit with a period of 103 The United States Secretary of Defense ( SECDEF) is the head of the U Neil Hosler McElroy ( 30 October 1904 - 30 November 1972) was United States Secretary of Defense from 1957 to 1959 under President The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. The Juno I was a satellite Launch vehicle, derived from and commonly confused with the Jupiter-C sounding rocket At 11:45 AM on December 6, an attempt was made to launch TV-3. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev The rocket rose about four feet (1. 2 m) into the air when the engine injectors failed. Deprived of its thrust the rocket immediately sank back down to the launch pad and exploded. The payload nosecone detached in the process and landed free of the exploding rocket. The satellite was too damaged for further use; it now resides in the National Air and Space Museum. The National Air and Space Museum (NASM of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington D On February 1, 1958, the ABMA managed to launch the Explorer 1 satellite. Explorer 1 (officially titled at NASA as satellite 1958 Alpha) was the first Earth Satellite of the United States, launched on February 1

On March 17, 1958, the program successfully launched the Vanguard satellite TV-4. Events 45 BC - In his last victory Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. TV-4 achieved a stable orbit with an apogee of 3,969 kilometers (2466 mi) and a perigee of 650 kilometers (404 mi); it was estimated that it would remain in orbit for 240 years, and Vanguard 1 remains the oldest human-made satellite still in orbit at this time. In Physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of one object around a point or another body for example the gravitational orbit of a planet around a star In Celestial mechanics, an apsis, plural apsides (ˈæpsɨdɪːz is the point of greatest or least distance of the Elliptical orbit of an object from The radio continued to transmit until 1964, and tracking data obtained with this satellite revealed that Earth is not quite a perfect sphere - it is elevated at the North Pole and flattened at the South Pole. The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is subject to the caveats explained below defined as the point in the northern The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth. The Vanguard program was transferred to NASA when that agency was created in mid-1958. The program ended with the launch of Vanguard 3 in 1959.

In late 1958, with responsibility for Project Vanguard having been transferred to NASA, the nucleus of the Goddard Space Flight Center was formed. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program The Goddard Space Flight Center ( GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight After the transfer, NRL rebuilt their spacecraft technology capability and have developed some 87 satellites over the past 40 years for the Navy, DoD and NASA. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program

Accomplishments

Vanguard met 100 percent of its scientific objectives, providing a wealth of information on the size and shape of the Earth, air density, temperature ranges, and micrometeorite impact. A Micrometeoroid (also micrometeorite, micrometeor) is a tiny Meteoroid; a small particle of rock in space usually weighing less than a Gram It demonstrated that the Earth is slightly pear-shaped, not perfectly round; corrected ideas about the atmosphere's density at high altitudes and improved the accuracy of world maps.

NRL space scientists say that the Vanguard 1 program introduced much of the technology that has since been applied in later U. Vanguard 1 was the fourth artificial Satellite launched and is the oldest still orbiting Earth though there is no longer any communication with it S. satellite programs, from rocket launching to satellite tracking. For example, it validated in flight that solar cells could be used for several years to power radio transmitters. A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts Solar energy into Electricity by the photovoltaic effect. Vanguard's solar cells operated for about seven years, while conventional batteries used to power another on-board transmitter lasted only 20 days.

Although Vanguard's solar-powered "voice" became silent in 1964, it continues to serve the scientific community. Ground-based optical tracking of the now-inert Vanguards continues to provide information about the effects of the Sun, Moon and atmosphere on satellite orbits. Vanguard I marked its 49th year in space on March 17, 2007. In the years following its launch, the small satellite has made more than 178,061 revolutions of the Earth and traveled over 9. 4 billion kilometers (5. 1 billion nautical miles).

The Vanguard Satellite Launch Vehicle (the term was invented for the operation SLV models, as opposed to the Test Vehicle TV versions) of the first generation. It was a much smaller and lighter launcher than the Jupiter-C (Redstone) which launched the Explorer satellites, or the immense R-7 that the Soviets used to launch the early Sputniks. The Jupiter-C was a type of Sounding rocket used for three Sub-orbital spaceflights conducted in 1956 and 1957 The R-7 Semyorka (Р-7 "Семёрка" was the world's first true Intercontinental ballistic missile and was deployed by the Soviet Union during the

Launch history

Vanguard rocket explodes seconds after launch at Cape Canaveral (December 6, 1957).
Vanguard rocket explodes seconds after launch at Cape Canaveral (December 6, 1957).
Test vehicle launches

The first Vanguard flight, a successful suborbital test of the TV-0 single-stage vehicle, was launched on December 8 1956. A sub-orbital spaceflight (or sub-orbital flight is a Spaceflight in which the Spacecraft reaches space, but its Trajectory intersects On May 1, 1957, the two-stage test vehicle TV-1 was successfully launched. Vanguard TV-2, another suborbital test, was launched October 23, 1957.

The Vanguard rocket launched three satellites out of eleven launch attempts:

  1. Vanguard TV3 - December 6, 1957 - Failed to orbit 1. The Vanguard rocket was intended to be the first Launch vehicle the United States would use to place a Satellite into orbit Vanguard TV3 was the first attempt of the United States to launch a Satellite into Orbit around the Earth. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) 36 kg (3 lb) satellite
  2. Vanguard TV3 Backup - February 5, 1958 - Failed to orbit 1. The pound or pound-mass (abbreviation lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States #) is a unit of Mass Events 1576 - Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 36 kg (3 lb) satellite
  3. Vanguard 1 - March 17, 1958 - Orbited 1. Vanguard 1 was the fourth artificial Satellite launched and is the oldest still orbiting Earth though there is no longer any communication with it Events 45 BC - In his last victory Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 47 kg (3. 25 lb) satellite
  4. Vanguard TV5 - April 28, 1958 - Failed to orbit 9. Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 98 kg (22 lb) satellite
  5. Vanguard SLV 1 - May 27, 1958 - Failed to orbit 9. Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 98 kg (22 lb) satellite
  6. Vanguard SLV 2 - June 26, 1958 - Failed to orbit 9. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 98 kg (22 lb) satellite
  7. Vanguard SLV 3 - September 26, 1958 - Failed to orbit 9. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 98 kg (22 lb) satellite
  8. Vanguard 2 - February 17, 1959 - Orbited 10. Mission objectives The satellite was designed to measure cloud-cover distribution over the daylight portion of its orbit Events 1500 - Battle of Hemmingstedt. 1600 - Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 8 kg (23. 7 lb) satellite
  9. Vanguard SLV 5 - April 13, 1959 - Failed to orbit 10. Events 1111 - Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1204 - The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 3 kg (22 lb 11 oz) satellite
  10. Vanguard SLV 6 - June 22, 1959 - Failed to orbit 10. This article is about the unit of mass For the unit of force see Pound-force. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 3 kg (22 lb 11 oz) satellite
  11. Vanguard 3 - September 18, 1959 - Orbited 22. Mission Objectives The satellite was launched from the Eastern Test Range into a Geocentric orbit. Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 7 kg (50 lb) satellite

See also

References

  1. ^ Vanguard I - the World's Oldest Satellite Still in Orbit. The Vanguard rocket was intended to be the first Launch vehicle the United States would use to place a Satellite into orbit Vanguard 1 was the fourth artificial Satellite launched and is the oldest still orbiting Earth though there is no longer any communication with it Mission objectives The satellite was designed to measure cloud-cover distribution over the daylight portion of its orbit Mission Objectives The satellite was launched from the Eastern Test Range into a Geocentric orbit. The Explorer program was the United States 's first successful attempt to launch an artificial satellite. The Sputnik crisis was a turning point of the Cold War that began on October 4, 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 1 Spacecraft Engineering Department, U. S. Navy.

External links

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