Vanguard 1
Artist's rendition of Vanguard 1 in orbit.
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| Mission type | Earth science |
|---|---|
| Operator | U.S. Navy |
| Harvard designation | 1958 Beta 2 |
| COSPAR ID | 1958-002B |
| SATCAT № | 00005 |
| Website | Vanguard 1 |
| Mission duration | ~2,200 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Naval Research Laboratory |
| Launch mass | 1.47 kilograms (3.2 lb) |
| Dimensions | 6.4 inches (16 cm) diameter |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | March 17, 1958, 12:15:41 UTC |
| Rocket | Vanguard TV-4 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-18A |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | May 1964 |
| Decay date | Est. 2198 (240-year orbital lifetime) |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | MEO |
| Semi-major axis | 8,620 kilometers (4,650 nmi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.1844061 |
| Perigee | 658.9 kilometers (355.8 nmi) |
| Apogee | 3,839.9 kilometers (2,073.4 nmi) |
| Inclination | 34.2 degrees |
| Period | 132.8 minutes |
| RAAN | 181.84 degrees |
| Argument of perigee | 120.16 degrees |
| Mean anomaly | 10.84 degrees |
| Mean motion | 10.84 |
| Epoch | January 6, 2017 |
| Revolution number | 233,058 |
Vanguard 1 (ID: 1958-Beta 2 ) was the fourth artificial Earth orbital satellite launched (after Sputnik 1, Sputnik 2, and Explorer 1). It was the first satellite to be solar powered. Although communication with it was lost in 1964, it remains the oldest manmade satellite still in orbit. It was designed to test the launch capabilities of a three-stage launch vehicle as a part of Project Vanguard, and the effects of the environment on a satellite and its systems in Earth orbit. It also was used to obtain geodetic measurements through orbit analysis. Vanguard 1 was described by then-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev as, "The grapefruit satellite."
The spacecraft is a 1.47 kg (3.2 lb) aluminum sphere 165 mm (6.4 inches) in diameter. It contains a 10 mW, 108 MHz transmitter powered by a mercury battery and a 5 mW, 108.03 MHz transmitter that was powered by six solar cells mounted on the body of the satellite. Six short antennas protrude from the sphere. The transmitters were used primarily for engineering and tracking data, but were also used to determine the total electron content between the satellite and ground stations. Vanguard also carries two thermistors which measured the interior temperature over sixteen days in order to track the effectiveness of the thermal protection. A backup version of Vanguard 1 is on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.
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