Vanguard 3
Vanguard 3 satellite | |
| Names | Vanguard Space Launch Vehicle-7 Vanguard-TV4BU |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Earth science |
| Operator | Naval Research Laboratory |
| Harvard designation | 1959 Eta 1 |
| COSPAR ID | 1959-007A |
| SATCAT no. | 00020 |
| Mission duration | 90 days (planned) 66 years, 3 months and 5 days (in orbit) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Vanguard 3C |
| Spacecraft type | Vanguard |
| Manufacturer | Naval Research Laboratory |
| Launch mass | 42.9 kg (95 lb) |
| Dimensions | 50.8 cm (20.0 in) diameter |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 18 September 1959, 05:20:07 GMT |
| Rocket | Vanguard/Altair |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, LC-18A |
| Contractor | Glenn L. Martin Company |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | 11 December 1959 |
| Decay date | 2259 (estimated) ~ 300 years orbital lifetime |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Medium Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 512 km (318 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 3,750 km (2,330 mi) |
| Inclination | 33.35° |
| Period | 130.0 minutes |
| Instruments | |
| Proton Precessional Magnetometer Micrometeorite Detectors Satellite Drag Atmospheric Density X-Ray Experiment | |
Vanguard 3 (Harvard designation: 1959 Eta 1) is a scientific satellite that was launched into Earth orbit by the Vanguard SLV-7 on 18 September 1959, the third successful Vanguard launch out of eleven attempts. Vanguard rocket: Vanguard Satellite Launch Vehicle-7 (SLV-7) was an unused Vanguard TV-4BU (TV-4BU=Test Vehicle-Four BackUp) rocket, updated to the final production Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV).
Project Vanguard was a program managed by the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), and designed and built by the Glenn L. Martin Company (now Lockheed Martin), which intended to launch the first artificial satellite into Earth orbit using a Vanguard rocket. as the launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Vanguard 3 was an important part of the Space Race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.