Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-03-06
SkyWatchers'
Start Hunt for
Explorer II
But Opinion Rises
That Satellite FuiIed
To Get in Orbit
BY vERN HAUGLAND
Associated Press Stan Writer

CAPE CANAvERAL, Fla,
Mar. 6.-Moonwatch teams
geared themselves today for q
sky search for the Army's
newly launched and mysteri-
ously missing satellite, Elk
lplorer II.
But the conviction grew that
the 6-inch metal cylinder, 80
inches long and weighing about
80 pounds, never achieved an
orbit.
There were persistent reports
that signals from the Jupiter-C
Launching rocket convinced
some Army missile experts,
within the first hour after yes
terday'S firing at 1923 pm.
(EST), that the final stage Of
the four-stage vehicle had
failed to fire.
Officials of the Army Bal
listic Missile Agency and Of
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
which built the high speed up
per stages, were unavailable for
comment. Wernher Won Braun,
German born head of the
Army space program, left for
Huntsville, Ala, before report
ers could question him.
Lag in Velocity
Experts said that failure of
the final stage to fire on cue
would have meant that the
satellite. even though it was
at orbital altitude Of 200 or
more miles, would achieve q
velocity of only about 3 miles
a second as against the S miles
a second needed to maintain an
orbit-1O,800 miles an hour in
stead Of $4,000.
This in turn could mean that
the satellite would tumble into
the South Atlantic, or into
Africa or the Indian Ocean be-
Iyond.
The cylinder would have
travelled less than half way
around the world before
tumbling down.
i Army sources said that If the
final satellite stage failed to
fire properly and no orbit was
achieved, the missiles speed
would have been insufficient to
cause it to burn up from at
mospheric friction on the de-
scent. They said it might
break apart from the stresses
of such a fall. however. and re-
turn to earth in shattered
pieces.
Malfuncti0n Likely
In Washington last night DR.
Richard Porter, chairman of
the earth satellite panel of the
United States National Com
mittee for the international
Geophysical Year, told news
men there was some in
dication that the satellite is not
functioning normally"
DR.. Porter said there hao
been indications from tbs
minitrack radio tracking sta
ton here and at one other
point that the fourth stage die
not function.
There is other information
however, that it probably die
and that the difficulty is more
probably in the radio trans
mission equipment" DR.. Porter
added.
!, White House Press Secretary
James C. Hagerty said Presi-
dent Eisenhower was "disap-
pointed" at the lack of news
this morning that the new sat-
elite was in orbit. He said the
President still is waiting fol
definite reports on what had
happened to it.
At Pasadena, Calf. DR.. Will
liam Pickering. head of JET
Propulsion Laboratory. said
there was every indication that
the satellite was not function
ing properly and that there was
a probability that it was not in
orbit.
He said it probably would
take several days to interpret
technical data sufficiently to
find out what had happened.
The Smithsonian Astrophysi-
cal Observatory said in Cam
bridge, Mass, it was alerting
Moonwatch teams to be on the
lookout for Explorer II even
though it had not been de-
termined whether it was in
orbit.
If in an orbit, the satellite
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