page_title: Vanguard (rocket)
section_title: Launches
hierarchical_section_title: Vanguard (rocket) / Launches
caption_attribution_description: English: Test of Vanguard launch vehicle for U.S. International Geophysical Year (IGY) program to place satellite in Earth orbit to determine atmospheric density and conduct geodetic measurements. Malfunction in first stage caused vehicle to lose thrust after two seconds and vehicle was destroyed. Deutsch: Vanguard Rakete explodiert kurz nach dem Abheben beim ersten Start am 6. Dezember 1957 in Cape Canaveral.
context_page_description: 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.
context_section_description: Vanguard launched 3 satellites out of 11 launch attempts:
  Vanguard TV3 - December 6, 1957 - Failed to orbit 1.36 kg (3 lb) satellite
  Vanguard TV3 Backup - February 5, 1958 - Failed to orbit 1.36 kg (3 lb) satellite
  Vanguard 1 (Vanguard TV4) - March 17, 1958 - Orbited 1.47 kg (3.25 lb) satellite
  Vanguard TV5 - April 28, 1958 - Failed to orbit 10.0 kg (22 lb) satellite
  Vanguard SLV-1 - May 27, 1958 - Failed to orbit 10.0 kg (22 lb) satellite
  Vanguard SLV-2 - June 26, 1958 - Failed to orbit 10.0 kg (22 lb) satellite
  Vanguard SLV-3 - September 26, 1958 - Failed to orbit 10.0 kg (22 lb) satellite
  Vanguard 2 (Vanguard SLV-4) - February 17, 1959 - Orbited 9.8 kg (21.6 lb) satellite
  Vanguard SLV-5 - April 13, 1959 - Failed to orbit 10.3 kg (22.7 lb) satellite
  Vanguard SLV-6 - June 22, 1959 - Failed to orbit 10.3 kg (22.7 lb) satellite
  Vanguard 3 (Vanguard TV4-BU, also Vanguard SLV-7) - September 18, 1959 - Orbited 22.7 kg (50 lb) satellite
caption: Unsuccessful launch of Vanguard TV-3 at Cape Canaveral (December 6, 1957).
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