Vanguard

Vanguard, any of a series of three uncrewed U.S. experimental test satellites. Vanguard 1, launched March 17, 1958, was a tiny 1.47-kg (3.25-pound) sphere equipped with two radio transmitters. It was the second U.S. artificial satellite placed in orbit around Earth, the first being Explorer 1 (January 31, 1958). By monitoring Vanguard’s flight path, scientists found that Earth was almost imperceptibly pear-shaped, in confirmation of earlier theories. (As of 2020, Vanguard 1 was the oldest satellite in orbit.) Vanguard 2, orbited on February 17, 1959, carried light-sensitive photocells that were designed to study Earth’s cloud cover, but the satellite’s tumbling motion rendered the data unreadable. Vanguard 3, the last in the series, was launched on September 18, 1959, and mapped Earth’s magnetic field.