Project Vanguard

The words

1. Cape Canaveral

   Cape Canaveral was Vanguard’s Florida launch base. Martin’s field crew and Naval Research Laboratory engineers worked there together on vehicle tests and launches.

   p. 165 · Green and Lomask: Vanguard history (opens a new tab)

2. Explosion

   On December 6, 1957, TV-3 rose only a few feet before losing thrust and falling back onto the pad. The explosion ended that attempt to reach orbit.

   NASA: TV-3 and Vanguard 1 (opens a new tab)

3. Flopnik

   Flopnik was a mocking press name for TV-3’s failure, playing on Sputnik. The nickname captured the public embarrassment surrounding an American launch attempt after the Soviet successes.

   NASA: TV-3 and Vanguard 1 (opens a new tab)

4. Geodesy

   The science of measuring Earth’s shape and size.

   Tracking Vanguard 1 helped scientists estimate Earth’s equatorial and polar diameters. Its orbit also supplied information about changes in the upper atmosphere.

   p. 244 · Green and Lomask: Vanguard history (opens a new tab)

5. Martin Company

   The Glenn L. Martin Company designed and produced Vanguard’s launch vehicle under Naval Research Laboratory supervision, building on its earlier work with Viking rockets.

   p. 58 · Green and Lomask: Vanguard history (opens a new tab)

6. Milton Rosen

   Milton Rosen was Vanguard’s technical director under John Hagen. His engineering team included specialists in propulsion, tracking and other parts of the project.

   p. 62 · Green and Lomask: Vanguard history (opens a new tab)

7. Minitrack

   Minitrack compared radio signals received by paired ground antennas. These measurements gave the satellite’s direction, helping tracking teams determine where it was along its orbit.

   pp. 145–148 · Green and Lomask: Vanguard history (opens a new tab)

8. Navy

   The Naval Research Laboratory led Project Vanguard before NASA existed. Many of its scientists and engineers later transferred into NASA and helped form the core of Goddard Space Flight Center.

   NASA Archives: Vanguard to Goddard (opens a new tab)

9. Pear Shape

   Pear shape described the asymmetry revealed by Vanguard 1’s measurements. Tracking its orbit helped scientists learn that Earth’s figure was more complex than a perfectly symmetrical sphere.

   NASA: TV-3 and Vanguard 1 (opens a new tab)

10. Solar Cells

    Vanguard 1 became the first solar-powered spacecraft in March 1958. Its cells turned sunlight into electricity, providing an alternative to relying entirely on batteries carried from Earth.

    Did you know?

    Vanguard 1 transmitted for six years, far longer than the battery-only satellites that opened the Space Age.

    NASA Science: sunlight for spacecraft (opens a new tab)

11. Stage

    A stage was one propulsion section of the rocket. Vanguard combined three stages to accelerate its small scientific satellite toward the speed required for orbit.

    pp. 43–44 · Green and Lomask: Vanguard history (opens a new tab)

12. Test Vehicle

    TV-3 stood for Test Vehicle 3. It carried a satellite during the December 1957 attempt, but the rocket’s failure prevented that payload from entering orbit.

    NASA: TV-3 and Vanguard 1 (opens a new tab)

13. Thrust

    The pushing force produced by an engine.

    TV-3 lost thrust just after leaving the pad and fell back. The failure happened before its satellite could begin an orbit around Earth.

    NASA: TV-3 and Vanguard 1 (opens a new tab)

14. Vanguard

    Project Vanguard began in 1955 as an effort to launch a scientific satellite for the International Geophysical Year. Vanguard 1 reached orbit on March 17, 1958, after Explorer 1.

    NASA Archives: Vanguard to Goddard (opens a new tab)

15. Viking

    Viking supplied engineering experience for Vanguard. Two research rockets already on order were redirected into the new satellite-launching test program.

    p. 58 · Green and Lomask: Vanguard history (opens a new tab)