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Vanguard | Vanguard II

Lockheed Martin | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Feb. 17, 1959, 3:55 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Vanguard II is an Earth orbiting satellite and the first weather satellite. It was designed to measure cloud-cover distribution over the daylight portion of its orbit for a period of 19 days and to provide information on the density of the atmosphere.

Medium Earth Orbit
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Vostok-L 8K72 | Luna-1

Energia | Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Jan. 2, 1959, 4:41 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Earth's Moon. Intended to be an impactor it was launched as part of the Soviet Luna programme. Due to an incorrectly timed upper stage burn during launch it missed the Moon.

Lunar Impactor
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Atlas B | SCORE

Convair | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Dec. 18, 1958, 11:02 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

SCORE or Signal Communications by Orbiting RElay was the world first purpose built communications satellite. It provided a second test of a communications relay system after the first being provided by Pioneer 1.

Low Earth Orbit
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Juno II | Pioneer 3

Army Ballistic Missile Agency | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Dec. 6, 1958, 5:44 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Pioneer 3 was a spin-stabilized spacecraft intended as a lunar probe but failed to perform a lunar flyby as planned. Its mission was revised to measure radiation in the outer Van Allen radiation belts.

Lunar flyby
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Vostok-L 8K72 | Luna-1c

Energia | Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Dec. 4, 1958, 6:18 p.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

Luna E-1 number 3 was a Soviet spacecraft intended to impact the moon but was lost in a launch failure.

Lunar Impactor
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Thor Able I | Pioneer 2

McDonnell Douglas | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Nov. 8, 1958, 7:30 a.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

The third pioneer orbiter, pioneer 2 intended to enter lunar orbit but failed to make orbit when the third stage failed to ignite.

Lunar Orbit
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Juno-I | Beacon

Chrysler | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Oct. 23, 1958, 3:21 a.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

Beacon 1 was a large inflatable satellite of micro-thin plastic covered with aluminium foil. It was designed to be large so that it was easily visible from Earth.

Low Earth Orbit
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Vostok-L 8K72 | Luna-1b

Energia | Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Oct. 11, 1958, 9:41 p.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

Luna E-1 number 2 was a Soviet spacecraft intended to impact the moon, however, was lost in a launch failure.

Lunar Impactor
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Thor Able I | Pioneer 1

McDonnell Douglas | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Oct. 11, 1958, 8:42 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

The second pioneer orbiter, pioneer 1 intended to enter lunar orbit but missed the Moon after a third stage partial failure.

Lunar Orbit
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Vanguard | Vanguard

Lockheed Martin | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Sept. 26, 1958, 3:38 p.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

Vanguard was an American satellite and the fourth artificial Earth orbital satellite to be launched. It was the first satellite to have solar electric power.

Medium Earth Orbit
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