Vanguard 2
E408069
Vanguard 2 is an early American Earth-orbiting satellite, launched in 1959 to measure cloud cover and improve understanding of Earth’s weather and atmospheric conditions.
All labels observed (3)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Vanguard 2 canonical | 5 |
| Vanguard 2 satellite | 1 |
| Vanguard II | 1 |
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
American spacecraft
ⓘ
Earth observation satellite ⓘ artificial satellite ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
1959 Alpha 1
ⓘ
Vanguard 2 ⓘ
surface form:
Vanguard II
|
| apogeeAltitude | about 3,300 kilometers ⓘ |
| body | Earth ⓘ |
| COSPARId | 1959-001A ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| dataReturn | limited cloud data due to attitude and tumbling issues ⓘ |
| diameter | approximately 50.8 centimeters ⓘ |
| followedBy | Vanguard 3 ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance |
early U.S. satellite for cloud cover measurement
ⓘ
one of the earliest meteorological satellites ⓘ |
| inclination | about 32.9 degrees ⓘ |
| instrument |
optical scanner system
ⓘ
two photocells ⓘ |
| launchDate | 1959-02-17 ⓘ |
| launchEra | early Space Age ⓘ |
| launchOutcome | success ⓘ |
| launchPad |
Launch Complex 18
ⓘ
surface form:
Launch Complex 18A
|
| launchSite |
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
ⓘ
surface form:
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral ⓘ
surface form:
Cape Canaveral, Florida
|
| launchVehicle | Vanguard SLV-4 ⓘ |
| launchYear | 1959 ⓘ |
| mass | approximately 10.8 kilograms ⓘ |
| missionType |
atmospheric research
ⓘ
meteorology ⓘ |
| operator |
Naval Research Laboratory
ⓘ
United States Navy ⓘ |
| orbitalPeriod | about 122 minutes ⓘ |
| orbitRegime | elliptical orbit ⓘ |
| orbitType | low Earth orbit ⓘ |
| perigeeAltitude | about 560 kilometers ⓘ |
| powerSource |
batteries
ⓘ
solar cells ⓘ |
| precededBy |
Vanguard 1 satellite
ⓘ
surface form:
Vanguard 1
|
| primaryMission |
improvement of weather and atmospheric understanding
ⓘ
measurement of global cloud cover ⓘ |
| program |
United States Navy Project Vanguard
ⓘ
surface form:
Project Vanguard
|
| purposeOfInstrument | detect reflected sunlight from cloud tops ⓘ |
| shape | spherical ⓘ |
| status | in orbit ⓘ |
| usedFor |
study of Earth’s weather
ⓘ
study of atmospheric conditions ⓘ |
Referenced by (7)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Vanguard II
this entity surface form:
Vanguard 2 satellite