Vanguard TV-3
 Vanguard TV-3 spacecraft | |
| Names | Vanguard Test Vehicle-Three |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Earth science |
| Operator | U.S. Navy |
| Mission duration | Failed to orbit (2 seconds) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Vanguard 1A |
| Spacecraft type | Vanguard |
| Manufacturer | Naval Research Laboratory |
| Launch mass | 1.5 kg (3.3 lb)[1] |
| Dimensions | 16.3 cm of diameter |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 6 December 1957, 16:44:35GMT |
| Rocket | Vanguard TV-3 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral,LC-18A |
| Contractor | Glenn L. Martin Company |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | Failed to orbit |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit(planned) |
| Regime | Medium Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 654 km (406 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 3,969 km (2,466 mi) |
| Inclination | 34.2° |
| Period | 134.2 minutes |
Vanguard TV-3(also calledVanguard Test Vehicle-Three), was the first attempt of theUnited Statesto launch asatelliteintoorbitaround theEarth,after the successfulSovietlaunches ofSputnik 1andSputnik 2.Vanguard TV-3 was a small satellite designed to test the launch capabilities of thethree-stageVanguardand study the effects of the environment on a satellite and its systems inEarth orbit.It was also to be used to obtaingeodeticmeasurements through orbit analysis.Solar cellson Vanguard TV-3 were manufactured byBell Laboratories.
At its launch attempt on 6 December 1957, atCape Canaveral Air Force Station,theboosterignited and began to rise, but about two seconds after liftoff, after rising about 1.2 m (four feet), the rocket lost thrust and fell back to thelaunch pad.As it settled, the fuel tanks ruptured and exploded, destroying the rocket and severely damaging the launch pad. TheVanguard 1Asatellite was thrown clear and landed on the ground a short distance away with itstransmittersstill sending out abeaconsignal. The satellite was damaged, however, and could not be reused. It is now on display at theNational Air and Space Museumof theSmithsonian Institution.[1]
The exact cause of the accident was not determined with certainty, but it appeared that the fuel system malfunctioned. Other engines of the same model were modified and did not fail.
Satellite construction project
[edit]
The history of the Vanguard TV-3 project dates back to theInternational Geophysical Year(IGY). This was an enthusiastic international undertaking that united scientists globally to conduct planet-wide geophysical studies. The IGY guaranteed free exchange of information acquired through scientific observation which led to many important discoveries in the future.[2]Orbiting a satellite became one of the main goals of the IGY. As early as July 1955, PresidentDwight D. Eisenhowerannounced, through his press secretary, that the United States would launch "small, unmanned, Earth-circling satellites as part of the U.S. participation in the I.G.Y."[3]On 9 September 1955, theUnited States Department of Defense(U.S. DoD) wrote a letter to the secretary of the Navy authorizing the mission to proceed. The U.S. Navy had been assigned the task of launching Vanguard satellites as part of the program. Project Vanguard had officially begun.[4]
Spacecraft
[edit]
Thepayloadof the TV-3 was very similar to the laterVanguard 1.It was a smallaluminiumsphere,16.3 cm (6.4 in) indiameterand with amassof 1.5 kg (3.3 lb). It carried two transmitters: a 10-mW, 108-MHz transmitter powered by amercury battery,and a 5-mW, 108.03-MHz transmitter powered by sixsolar cellsmounted on the body of the spacecraft. Using six small aerialantennaemounted on its body, the satellite primarily transmitted engineering andtelemetrydata, but the transmitters were also used to determine the totalelectroncontent between the satellite and the ground stations. Other instruments in the satellite's design included twothermistors,which were used to measure the satellite's internal temperatures for the purpose of tracking itsthermal protection's effectiveness. Although the satellite was damaged beyond reuse capability during the crash, it was still transmitting after the incident.[1]
Launch vehicle
[edit]Vanguard TV-3 utilized the three-stageVanguarddesigned to send the satellite intoorbitaround the Earth. The fins were removed from the rocket as a way to reduce the drag and instead, the launch motor was mounted ingimbalswhich allowed it to pivot and direct its thrust for steering. The second and third stages of the rocket were also gimballed.[5]
Launch
[edit]At launch on 6 December 1957 at 16:44:35GMTat theAtlantic Missile RangeinCape Canaveral,Florida,the booster ignited and began to rise but about 2 seconds after liftoff, after rising about a meter, the rocket lost thrust and began to settle back down to the launch pad. As it settled against the launch pad the fuel tanks ruptured and exploded, destroying the rocket and severely damaging the launch pad. The Vanguard satellite was thrown clear and landed on the ground a short distance away with its transmitters still sending out a beacon signal. The satellite was damaged, however, and could not be reused. It is now on display at theSmithsonian Air and Space Museum.[1]
Cause of failure
[edit]The exact cause of the accident was not determined with certainty due to limited telemetry instrumentation at this early phase,[6]butMartin Mariettaconcluded that lowfuel tankpressure during the start procedure allowed some of the burning fuel in thecombustion chamberto leak into the fuel system through theinjectorhead before full propellant pressure was obtained from theturbopump.General Electric,on the other hand, argued that the problem was a loose fuel connection. In hindsight, the first problem appeared to cause the second. The investigation concluded that tank and fuel system pressure were slightly lower than nominal, which resulted in insufficient pressure in the injector head. As a result, hot combustion gas backed up into the injector head and caused a large pressure spike. The injector rings completely burned through, followed by the rupture of the combustion chamber. At T+1 second, a shock wave in the thrust section of the booster ruptured a fuel feed line, completely terminating engine thrust. GE technicians had failed to catch this design flaw during testing and a temporary fix was made by increasing tank pressure. Eventually, a further modification was made by usingethanegas to increase fuel force and prevent rough start transients.[7]The X-405 engine did not fail again on subsequent launches and static firing tests.
Reaction
[edit]After the launch failure, trading in the stock of theMartin Company,the prime contractor for the project, was temporarily suspended by theNew York Stock Exchange.[6]
Newspapers in the United States published prominent headlines and articles describing the failure with plays on the name of the Russian satellite,Sputnik,such as "Flopnik",[8]"Kaputnik",[9]"Oopsnik", "Dudnick" and "Stayputnik".[10]The failure, reported in international media, was a humiliating loss of prestige for theUnited States,which had presented itself to the world as the leader in science and technology. TheSoviet Union,the United States' rival in theCold War,exploited the disaster.[11][12]A few days after the incident, a Soviet delegate to theUnited Nationsinquired whether the United States was interested in receiving aid earmarked for "undeveloped countries".[13]
The TV-3 disaster was quoted by the New York Times as a "Blow to US Prestige".[14]Senator Lyndon B. Johnson had said that the launch was "most humiliating" for the American people. In the words of Donald J. Markarian, the project engineer of the Martin Company, the company in charge of the development and creation of TV-3, "Following the TV-3 explosion, Project Vanguard became the whipping boy for the hurt pride of the American people."[15]
The concurrent projectExplorer 1proved successful a few weeks later, on 1 February 1958.[16]
Trivia
[edit]InKerbal Space Programthere is a probe named "Stayputnik", likely intended as an homage.
References
[edit]
- ^abcd"Vanguard TV3".NASA. 14 May 2020.Retrieved1 February2021.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
- ^Lina Kohonen, "The Space race and Soviet utopian thinking",Sociological Review;Vol. 57, May 2009, p. 114
- ^John P. Hagen, "The Viking and the Vanguard", inTechnology and Culture,Vol. 4, No. 4, (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press), Autumn 1963, p. 437)
- ^John P. Hagen, "The Viking and the Vanguard", inTechnology and Culture,Vol. 4, No. 4, (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press), Autumn 1963, p. 439)
- ^Fred L. WhippleandJ. Allen Hynek,"Stand by for Satellite Take-off" inPopular Mechanics,H.H. Windsor Jr, Illinois: the Hearst Corporation, July 1957 issue, p. 66.
- ^abMcLaughlin Green, Constance; Lomask, Milton (1970)."Chapter 11: From Sputnik I to TV-3".Vanguard – A History.NASA. Archived fromthe originalon 7 October 2018.Retrieved26 February2011.This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
- ^"The Vanguard Satellite Launching Vehicle an Engineering Summary; Rocket; International Geophysical Year".
- ^Sparrow, Giles (2007).Space Flight.Dorling Kindersley.ISBN978-0-7566-2858-1.
- ^Burrows, William E. (1999).This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age.Modern Library. p. 205.ISBN978-0-375-75485-2.
- ^Alan Boyle (4 October 1997)."Sputnik started space race, anxiety".NBC News.Retrieved17 March2008.
- ^Catchpole, John (2001).Project Mercury: NASA's First Manned Space Program.p.56.ISBN978-1-85233-406-2.
- ^Jones, Thomas (2002). "Early Frustrations: Project Kaboom (A.K.A Vanguard)".Complete Idiots Guide to NASA.ISBN978-0-02-864282-6.
- ^Charles A. Murray and Catherine Bly Cox, inApollo: The Race to the Moon,(United States: Simon & Schuster Inc.), 1989, pp. 23–24)
- ^"Vanguard Rocket Burns on Beach; Failure to Launch Test Satellite Assailed as Blow to U.S. Prestige; Sphere Survives But Carrier Rises Only 2 to 4 Feet Before Flames Wreck It Satellite Undamaged Data to Be Studied Satellite Rocket Burns on Beach According to Plan".The New York Times.Retrieved13 August2023.[dead link]
- ^"Chapter 11".history.nasa.gov.Retrieved13 August2023.
- ^McDonald, Naugle (2008)."Discovering Earth's Radiation Belts: Remembering Explorer 1 and 3".NASA History.89(39): 361–363.doi:10.1029/2008EO390001.This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
External links
[edit]
- YouTube –Vanguard TV-3 Launch Failure – Universal News(in black and white)
- YouTube –Vanguard TV-3 Failed Rocket Launch(in color)
- Google Newspapers –The Ottawa Citizen– "US fails to fire Satellite"