Vanguard 1

NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1958-002B

Description
Vanguard 1 (1958 Beta 2) was a small Earth-orbiting satellite designed to test t
he launch capabilities of a three-stage launch vehicle and the effects of the en
vironment on a satellite and its systems in Earth orbit. It also was used to obt
ain geodetic measurements through orbit analysis. It was the second satellite la
unched by the U.S., the first successful satellite of the Vanguard series, and t
he first satellite to use solar cell power. It is the oldest satellite still orb
iting the Earth.
Mission Profile
Vanguard 1 launched on 17 March 1958 at 12:15:41 UT from the Atlantic Missile Ra
nge in Cape Canaveral Florida. At 12:26:21, the third stage of the launch vehicl
e injected Vanguard 1 into a 654 x 3969 km, 134.27 minute orbit inclined at 34.2
5 degrees. Original estimates had the orbit lasting for 2000 years, but it was d
iscovered that solar radiation pressure and atmospheric drag during high levels
of solar activity produced significant perturbations in the perigee height of th
e satellite, which caused a significant decrease in its expected lifetime to onl
y about 240 years. The battery powered transmitter stopped operating in June 195
8 when the batteries ran down. The solar powered transmitter operated until May
1964 (when the last signals were received in Quito, Ecuador) after which the spa
cecraft was optically tracked from Earth.
Spacecraft and Subsystems
The spacecraft was a 1.46-kg aluminum sphere 16.5 cm in diameter. A cylinder lin
ed with heat shields mounted inside the sphere held the instrument payload. It c
ontained a set of mercury-batteries, a 10-mW, 108-MHz telemetry transmitter powe
red by the batteries, and a 5-mW, 108.03-MHz Minitrack beacon transmitter, which
was powered by six square (roughly 5 cm on a side) solar cells mounted on the b
ody of the satellite. Six 30-cm long, 0.8-cm diameter spring-actuated aluminum a
lloy aerials protruded from the sphere. The aerial axes were mutually perpendicu
lar and passed through the center of the sphere. The transmitters were used prim
arily for engineering and tracking data, but were also used to determine the tot
al electron content between the satellite and ground stations. Vanguard also car
ried two thermistors which measured the interior temperature over 16 days in ord
er to track the effectiveness of the thermal protection.
A cylindrical separation device kept the sphere attached to the third stage prio
r to deployment. At deployment a strap holding the satellite in place released a
nd three leaf springs separated the satellite from the cylinder and third stage
at a relative velocity of about 0.3 m/s.
Launch Vehicle
Vanguard was the designation used for both the launch vehicle and the satellite.
The first stage of the three-stage Vanguard Test vehicle was powered by a GE X405 28,000 pound (~125,000 N) thrust liquid rocket engine, propelled by 7200 kg
of kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen, with helium pressurant. It also held 152 k
g of hydrogen peroxide. It was finless, 13.4 m (44 ft.) tall, 1.14 m (45 in.) in
diameter, and had a launch mass of approximately 8090 kg (17,800 lbs. wt.).
The second stage was a 5.8 m (19 ft.) high, 0.8 m (31.5 in.) diameter Aerojet-Ge
neral AJ-10 liquid engine burning 1520 kg (3350 lbs) Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydra
zine (UDMH) and White Inhibited Fuming Nitric Acid (WIFNA) with a helium pressur
ant tank. It produced a thrust of 7340 pounds (~32,600 N) and had a launch mass
of approximately 1990 kg (4390 lbs. wt.). This stage contained the complete guid
ance and control system.
A solid-propellant rocket with 2350 pounds (~ 10,400 N) of thrust (for 30 second

s burn time) was developed by the Grand Central Rocket Co. to satisfy third-stag
e requirements. The stage was 1.5 m (60 in.) high, 0.8 m (31.5 in.) in diameter,
and had a launch mass of 194 kg (428 lbs.). The thin (0.076 cm, 0.03 in.) steel
casing for the third stage had a hemispherical forward dome with a shaft at the
center to support the satellite and an aft dome fairing into a steel exit nozzl
e.
The total height of the vehicle with the satellite fairing was about 21.9 meters
(72 feet). The payload capacity was 11.3 kg (25 lbs.) to a 555 km (345 mi.) Ear
th orbit. A nominal launch would have the first stage firing for 144 seconds, br
inging the rocket to an altitude of 58 km (36 mi), followed by the second stage
burn of 120 seconds to 480 km (300 mi), whereupon the third stage would bring th
e satellite to orbit. This was the same launch vehicle configuration, with minor
modifications, as used for Vanguard TV-3 and all succeeding Vanguard flights up
to and including Vanguard SLV-6.
Alternate Names
Vanguard TV-4 00005
Facts in Brief
Launch Date: 1958-03-17
Launch Vehicle: Vanguard
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral, United States
Mass: 1.46 kg
Funding Agency
Department of Defense-Department of the Navy (United States)
Disciplines
Engineering Earth Science Space Physics
Additional Information
Launch/Orbital information for Vanguard 1 Experiments on Vanguard 1 Data collections
from Vanguard 1
Questions or comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Dr. David R. Wil
liams.
Personnel
Name
Role
Original Affiliation
E-mail
Dr. J. P. HagenProject ScientistUS Naval Research Laboratory
Selected References
Easton, R. L., and M. J. Votaw, Vanguard I IGY satellite (1958 Beta), Rev. Sci.
Instrum., 30, 70-75, Feb. 1959.
Siry, J. W., Vanguard IGY earth satellite program, Ann. Intern. Geophys. Year, 1
2, Part 1, 64-75, 1960.
Green, C. M., Vanguard - a history, NASA, SP-4202, Wash., DC, 1970.