You are go for launch!
Published on Nov 8, 2007 at 6:46 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under history, space exploration.
Both the United States and the Soviet Union had planned to launch a satellite during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958. The Soviets got their satellite, Sputnik, off first, on October 3, 1957. I wrote about that a little over a month ago. American rocket scientists, of course, knew that the Soviets were working on a satellite program, but we didn’t know how far along they were. The American satellite program was having problems and was far behind schedule in development. Then, the Soviets surprised the world again by launching Sputnik 2 on November 3, 1957.
One of the advantages that the Soviet Union had over the United States in the first days of space exploration was their unified approach. One research group was in charge of launching spacecraft into orbit. In the United States, there were multiple space programs: Navy, Army, Air Force, and civilian. Each was vying for a piece of the available money. Each was working to develop their own rockets. Each had their own strategy.
At the time that the decision was made to launch a satellite into orbit, the Army was perhaps farthest along in design of a launch vehicle, basically a modification of the Jupiter missile. The Army had started Project Orbiter in 1954 under the guidance of Wernher von Braun. Project Orbiter envisioned launching a satellite using a modified Redstone missile called a Jupiter-C. The Air Force had a proposal to use a soon-to-be developed Atlas missile to launch a satellite into orbit. However, in 1955, the official decision was made to go with the Navy proposal to use a sounding rocket to launch a small satellite. That became Project Vanguard, and so the Army’s Project Orbiter was shelved. However, by October of 1957, Vanguard was way behind schedule. So, on November 8, 1957, just days after Sputnik 2, von Braun was given the go-ahead to reopen Project Orbiter. That eventually became the Explorer Project, and America’s first satellite, Explorer 1, was launched into orbit February 1, 1958, less than three months after von Braun’s team began serious work on the satellite program. The Army, though, split the satellite program between two centers, with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency building the rocket and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory building the satellite.
Over the years, I have heard a lot of explanations for the Eisenhower administration’s choice of Project Vanguard over Project Orbiter. With so many different explanations, I am not sure that I have really heard the right one, or if so, what that may be. I have heard it suggested that Eisenhower, who fought the Germans in World War II, may have had something against Wernher von Braun, who had build the V2 rockets for Germany during the war. I have also heard it suggested that he wanted to use the Navy rocket because it was originally a sounding rocket rather than a military weapon like the Air Force Atlas or the Army Redstone (Jupiter-C). It has been suggested that he wanted to delay the US entry into space until after the Soviets for political reasons, or to allow the Soviets to set the precedent of being able to freely fly over another nation in space (something that was taken exception to with aircraft). I have heard many other speculations, too, as to what went on behind the scenes in making this decision. Probably, it was a combination of factors.
At any rate, it was 50 years ago today that von Braun was given the go-ahead to launch the first satellite. He had been longing to launch a satellite since before he had even been pressed into service building missiles for Germany in World War II. He even ran afoul of the Nazis by suggesting that a better use for his rockets was to launch satellites than to launch warheads. But, his plans were shelved when Project Orbiter was shut down. However, given that it took less than three months to go from the OK to launch, it suggests that the United States may have been the first to launch a satellite into orbit had von Braun’s proposals been picked in 1955.
-Astroprof
Astroprof’s Page » Explorer 1 on January 30, 2008 at 5:15 pm: 1
[…] 50 years ago, on the evening of January 31, 1958, a Juno rocket (also known as a Jupiter-C rocket), which was basically a modified Redstone ballistic missile, roared to life on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, in Florida. Seconds later, at 10:48 pm Eastern Standard Time, the rocket lifted off. The rocket was the product of the hard work of Wernher von Braun, of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. The fourth stage of the rocket, though, was built and operated by the Army’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (later that year, both the ABMA and JPL were transfered to the newly created NASA). Just before the rocket was launched, the third stage was set spinning to stabilize it once it was released from the second stage. This gave the top of the rocket a rather peculiar look, rather like a spinning Coke can sitting on top of the rocket. The fourth stage contained a small solid rocket engine to put it into orbit, making it a satellite. This satellite was about 6 feet 8 inches (203 cm) long and 6.25 inches (15.9 cm) in diameter. It was not quite 14 kilograms in mass (weighing almost 31 pounds). It carried a small instrument package of mass about 4.8 kilograms (a bit under 11 pounds). The instrument package was largely designed by James van Allen of the State University of Iowa (now, just the University of Iowa). Nearly 40% of the satellite’s mass was batteries to provide power for the instruments and transmitters. The satellite, officially Satellite 1958 Alpha, was dubbed Explorer 1. It was the United States’ first orbiting satellite. There had been previous launches of rockets carrying payloads to the edge of space in suborbital flights, but Explorer 1 was the first thing that America put into orbit. It followed earlier failed attempts to launch Vanguard spacecraft. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had declared intentions of launching an orbiting satellite during the International Geophysical Year, which ran from July of 1957 through December of 1958. The Soviet Union beat America into space by launching Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957. On November 3, 1957, they surprised the world again by launching a dog into space aboard Sputnik 2. Vanguard was not doing well, and America was falling behind in the space race. So, von Braun was given the go-ahead to complete development on his plans to place a satellite into orbit. […]