Success
Vanguard II
Earth Science
US Navy(USN)Government
Vanguard
MEOorbit
Vanguard II is an Earth orbiting satellite and the first weather satellite. It was designed to measure cloud-cover distribution over the daylight portion of its orbit for a period of 19 days and to provide information on the density of the atmosphere.
Tuesday, February 17, 1959 at 3:55 PM
Mission details
Orbital Attempt
#33
USN Mission
#14
Pad Launch
#8
Location Launch
#19
Designator
1959-001
Launch Window
NET
Feb 17, 1959, 3:55 PM
Schedule Changes
1 update
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.
Timezone
America/New_York
Local Launch Time
Feb 17, 1959, 10:55 AM
Total Launches
1,109
Total Landings
75
Coordinates
28.4889, -80.5778
Vanguard Specs
The Vanguard rocket was intended to be the first launch vehicle the United States would use to place a satellite into orbit. Instead, the Sputnik crisis caused by the surprise launch of Sputnik 1 led the U.S., after the failure of Vanguard TV3, to quickly orbit the Explorer 1 satellite using a Juno I rocket, making Vanguard I the second successful U.S. orbital launch.
Length
23 m
Diameter
1.14 m
Launch Mass
10 t
Thrust
123 kN
LEO Capacity
9 kg
Reusable
No
Maiden Flight
1957
Fastest Turnaround
29d
Total Launches
11
Successful
3
Failed
8
Consecutive Success
1
Maiden flight: Oct 23, 1957
US Navy
The Navy was competed with the Army to put the first American satellite into orbit. Their first two Vanguard missions failed, with the second being a highly publicized failure, as it exploded on the launchpad. They went on to put 3 satellites into orbit but did not beat the Army to be the first. Their work in space continues today largely on military satellites.
Founded
1963
Total Launches
18
Successful
3
Failed
15
Pending
0
Consecutive Success
0