Mission Explorer 7 Type: Astrophysics Orbit: Low Earth Orbit Explorer 7 was designed to measure solar x-ray and Lyman-alpha flux, trapped energetic particles, and heavy primary cosmic rays. Secondary objectives included collecting data on micrometeoroid penetration, molecular sputtering and studying the Earth-atmosphere heat balance. Location Launch Complex 5 Cape Canaveral, FL, USA Launch Complex 5 […]
Mission LJ-6 Type: Test Flight Orbit: Suborbital The Little Joe 6 was a launch escape system test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. Location Launch Area 1 Wallops Island, Virginia, USA Launch Area 1 has witnessed the launch of 7 rockets, including 0 orbital launch attempts, while Wallops Island, […]
Mission Luna-3 Type: Lunar Exploration Orbit: Lunar flyby Luna 3 was a Soviet spacecraft and was the first ever mission to photograph the far side of the moon. Location 1/5 Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan 1/5 has witnessed the launch of 487 rockets, including 487 orbital launch attempts, while Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan, has […]
Mission Vanguard III Type: Earth Science Orbit: Medium Earth Orbit Vanguard 3 is a scientific satellite to measure the Earth’s magnetic field, solar X-ray radiation and its effects on the Earth’s atmosphere and the near-Earth micrometeoroid environment. Location Launch Complex 18A Cape Canaveral, FL, USA Launch Complex 18A has witnessed the launch of 18 rockets, […]
Mission Transit 1A Type: Navigation Orbit: Low Earth Orbit The Transit satellite system was the first satellite navigation system to be used operationally. The system was used to provide accurate location for the US Navy ships. Transit 1A failed to make orbit. Location Space Launch Complex 17A Cape Canaveral, FL, USA Space Launch Complex 17A […]
Mission Luna-2 Type: Lunar Exploration Orbit: Lunar Impactor Luna 2 successfully impacted the Moon’s surface making it the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon and the first human-made object to make contact with another celestial body. Location 1/5 Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan 1/5 has witnessed the launch of 487 rockets, including […]
Mission Big Joe 1 Type: Test Flight Orbit: Suborbital Suborbital flight with the objective of testing the Mercury spacecraft ablative heat shield. The Atlas booster section failed to jettison, leading to a lower apogee. It was nonetheless sufficient to satisfy the Mercury spacecraft team. Location Space Launch Complex 14 Cape Canaveral, FL, USA Space Launch […]
Mission LJ-1 Type: Test Flight Orbit: Suborbital Little Joe 1 (LJ-1) was a failed launch of a Little Joe by NASA, a solid fuel rocket that was designed for a Max Q abort and Launch Escape System test for Mercury capsule. The objective was to determine how well the escape rocket would function under the […]
Mission Discoverer 6 Type: Government/Top Secret Orbit: Polar Orbit Launch Cost: $10,700,000 Discoverer 6 was the sixth in a series of reconnaissance satellites, however, it failed to return its capsule when the retrorocket failed to deorbit the capsule. Location Space Launch Complex 1E Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA Space Launch Complex 1E has witnessed the launch […]
Mission Beacon Type: Test Target Orbit: Low Earth Orbit Beacon 2 was launched an a three stage Juno 2 rocket. The vehicle ran into trouble three minutes into flight and an array of failures caused the GNC system to fail causing the satellite to fall short of orbit. Location Launch Complex 26B Cape Canaveral, FL, […]
Mission Discoverer 5 Type: Government/Top Secret Orbit: Polar Orbit Launch Cost: $10,700,000 Discoverer 5 was the fifth in a series of reconnaissance satellites, however, it failed to return its capsule when it was accidentally sent into a higher orbit. Location Space Launch Complex 1W Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA Space Launch Complex 1W has witnessed the […]
Mission Explorer 6 Type: Earth Science Orbit: Elliptical Orbit Explorer 6 was an American satellite designed to study trapped radiation of various energies, galactic cosmic rays, geomagnetism, radio propagation and the flux of micrometeorites. It also tested a scanning device designed for photographing the Earth’s cloud cover, and transmitted the first pictures of Earth from […]
Mission NASA S-1 Type: Earth Science Orbit: Elliptical Orbit The S-1 satellite was a geoscience satellite equipped with a suite of scientific instruments to study the environment around the Earth. It was destroyed 5 seconds into launch when the launch vehicle exploded due to an issue with the launch vehicles power supply. Location Launch Complex […]
Mission Discoverer 4 Type: Government/Top Secret Orbit: Polar Orbit Launch Cost: $10,700,000 Discoverer 4 was the fourth in a series of reconnaissance satellites, however, it failed to reach orbit when the Agena engine underperformed and failed to place the capsule into orbit. Location Space Launch Complex 1E Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA Space Launch Complex 1E […]
Mission Vanguard Type: Earth Science Orbit: Low Earth Orbit Vanguard is a scientific satellite to measure the Earth’s magnetic field, solar X-ray radiation and its effects on the Earth’s atmosphere and the near-Earth micrometeoroid environment. Location Launch Complex 18A Cape Canaveral, FL, USA Launch Complex 18A has witnessed the launch of 18 rockets, including 11 […]
