Vanguard program

E90687

United States satellite program space program

The Vanguard program was an early U.S. Navy–run satellite project during the Cold War that aimed to launch some of the first American satellites into Earth orbit as part of the International Geophysical Year.

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States satellite program → space program →
conflictContext	Cold War →
coordinatedWith	International Council of Scientific Unions → National Academy of Sciences →
country	United States →
developedLaunchVehicle	Vanguard rocket →
endTime	1959 →
failedLaunches	8 →
firstLaunchDate	1957-12-06 →
firstLaunchOutcome	launch failure →
firstSuccessfulLaunchDate	1958-03-17 →
firstSuccessfulSatellite	Vanguard 1 →
fundingAgency	Office of Naval Research → United States Department of Defense →
historicalSignificance	contributed to creation of NASA → early attempt to achieve U.S. space leadership →
inception	1955 →
launchedSatellite	Vanguard 1 → Vanguard 2 → Vanguard 3 →
launchSite	Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 18 → Cape Canaveral Missile Annex →
location	Cape Canaveral →
notableAchievement	demonstrated three-stage launch vehicle technology → placed one of the earliest U.S. satellites in orbit →
notableEvent	first attempted U.S. orbital launch after Sputnik 1 →
notableFailure	Vanguard TV3 launch failure →
operator	Naval Research Laboratory → United States Navy →
partOf	International Geophysical Year activities → United States space program →
predecessor	Project Orbiter →
purpose	launch artificial Earth satellites → scientific research →
relatedEvent	Sputnik crisis →
rocketUsed	Vanguard rocket →
scientificObjective	study Earth’s shape → study atmospheric density → test satellite tracking techniques →
selectionReason	non-military image for IGY satellite project →
startTime	1955 →
status	terminated →
successfulLaunches	3 →
successor	Explorer program →
technologyType	three-stage liquid-fueled launch vehicle →
totalLaunches	11 →
usedTrackingSystem	Minitrack system →

Referenced by (3)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
1958 Beta 2 → Vanguard 1 →	program
LC-18A →	usedByProgram