Vanguard (rocket)
Vanguard rocket on Pad LC-18A | |
| Function | Satellite launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Glenn L. Martin Company |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Size | |
| Height | 21.9 meters (72 ft) |
| Diameter | 1.14 meters (3 ft 9 in) |
| Mass | 10,050 kilograms (22,160 lb) |
| Stages | 3 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass | 11.3 kg (25 lb) |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | Cape Canaveral, LC-18A |
| Total launches | 11 |
| Success(es) | 3 |
| Failure(s) | 8 |
| First flight | 23 October 1957 (Vanguard 1: 17 March 1958) |
| Last flight | 18 September 1959 |
| First stage – Vanguard | |
| Height | 13.4 m (44 ft) |
| Diameter | 1.14 m (3 ft 9 in) |
| Empty mass | 811 kg (1,788 lb) |
| Gross mass | 8,090 kg (17,840 lb) |
| Powered by | 1 General Electric GE X-405 |
| Maximum thrust | 125,000 N (28,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 248 s (2.43 km/s) |
| Burn time | 144 seconds |
| Propellant | LOX / Kerosene (RP-1) |
| Second stage – Delta | |
| Height | 5.8 m (19 ft) |
| Diameter | 0.8 m (2 ft 7 in) |
| Empty mass | 694 kg (1,530 lb) |
| Gross mass | 1,990 kg (4,390 lb) |
| Powered by | 1 Aerojet General AJ10-37 |
| Maximum thrust | 32,600 N (7,300 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 261 s (2.56 km/s) |
| Burn time | 120 seconds |
| Propellant | UDMH / Nitric acid (IWFNA) |
| Third stage – Grand Central Rocket Company | |
| Height | 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) |
| Diameter | 0.8 m (2 ft 7 in) |
| Empty mass | 31 kg (68 lb) |
| Gross mass | 194 kg (428 lb) |
| Powered by | 1 33KS2800 |
| Maximum thrust | 10,400 N (2,300 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 238 s (2.33 km/s): 151 |
| Burn time | 33 seconds: 151 |
| Propellant | Polysulfide/AP (APCP) |
| Third stage (SLV-7) – Allegany Ballistics Laboratory | |
| Height | 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) |
| Diameter | 0.8 m (2 ft 7 in) |
| Empty mass | 23 kg (51 lb): 151 |
| Gross mass | 229 kg (505 lb): 151 |
| Powered by | 1 X248 |
| Maximum thrust | 10,400 N (2,300 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 251 s (2.46 km/s): 151 |
| Burn time | 38 seconds: 151 |
| Propellant | Solid double base propellant |
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 TV-3, to quickly orbit the Explorer 1 satellite using a Juno I rocket, making Vanguard 1 the second successful U.S. orbital launch.
Vanguard rockets were used by Project Vanguard from 1957 to 1959. Of the eleven Vanguard rockets which the project attempted to launch, three successfully placed satellites into orbit. Vanguard rockets were an important part of the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union.