Vanguard TV-3 (also called Vanguard Test Vehicle-Three), was the first attempt of the United States to launch a satellite into orbit around the Earth, after the successful Soviet launches of Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2.

On December 6, the Vanguard Test Vehicle 3 (TV3) rose about 4 feet into the air, but the main engine lost thrust and the rocket fell back onto the pad, exploding in a huge fireball. The press called the failed attempt “Flopnik” and “Kaputnik,” in reference to its successful Soviet counterpart.

May 1, 2015 · Vanguard Test Vehicle 3 (TV3) was the first U.S. attempt to launch a satellite into orbit around the Earth. It was a small satellite designed to test the launch capabilities of a three-stage launch vehicle and study the effects of the environment on a …

Dec 6, 2021 · Vanguard Test Vehicle 3 (TV-3) was the United States' first attempt at putting a satellite into Earth orbit. Meant to succeed the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 and 2, it was a spectacular failure and a humiliating loss for the US.

Nov 5, 2024 · The Vanguard Test Vehicle 3 Backup (TV-3 BU) failed less than one minute after launch on 5 February 1958. The satellite was, as the name implies, built as a backup to the Vanguard TV-3 satellite, which was launched unsuccessfully on 6 December 1957.

Vanguard TV-3BU, also called Vanguard Test Vehicle-Three Backup, was the second flight of the American Vanguard rocket. An unsuccessful attempt to place an unnamed satellite, Vanguard 1B, into orbit, the rocket was launched on 5 February 1958.

Vanguard TV3 was a small satellite designed to test the launch capabilities of the three-stage Vanguard and study the effects of the environment on a satellite and its systems in Earth orbit. It was also to be used to obtain geodetic measurements through orbit analysis.

Dec 6, 2017 · Set against this backdrop was the infamous failure of the first Vanguard satellite launch attempt on December 6, 1957. Unfortunately this flight was touted by some as America’s response to the Sputniks.

Dec 6, 2019 · The Naval Research Laboratory’s Vanguard TV3 (Test Vehicle 3) was a small satellite designed to test the launch capabilities of the three-stage Vanguard rocket and study the effects of the environment on a satellite and its systems in Earth orbit.

Dec 6, 2023 · Vanguard TV-3, the first American attempt to put a satellite in orbit, was launched Dec. 6, 1957. Sputnik 1 had gone into orbit on Oct. 4, 1957, and while the public was impressed, even awestruck, the budding space industry in the United States went into panic mode.