| THE FIRST SATELLITES | ||
Project Vanguard was announced on September 9, 1955. Vanguard was intended to launch a satellite into orbit. It was to be a three-stage rocket with a Viking first stage (a Navy-developed rocket), an Aerobee-Hi second stage, and a solid-propellant third-stage to be developed from scratch by the Navy. The Vanguard satellites were gold-plated, magnesium alloy spheres. Vanguard 1 was a test article: 6.42 inches in diameter and weighing 3.25 pounds. It contained a tracking beacon and sensors to measure its internal and external temperatures. |
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