Vanguard 1 was an American satellite, launched by the US Navy after the Soviet Sputniks, and is the oldest artificial satellite still in orbit. It is tiny, a sphere about the size of a grapefruit, which led Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to mock it. The satellite carried solar cells, one of the first uses of solar power in space, and its radio transmitted for years. Tracking its orbit showed that the Earth is slightly pear-shaped, with a slight bulge in the southern hemisphere, and helped to measure atmospheric density. Its launch came after a highly publicised failure of an earlier Vanguard rocket on the launch pad. The satellite will remain in orbit for centuries.
Before and after
- March 1958Start of the Keeling curve at Mauna Loa
- 2 March 1958Construction of Beijing Capital International Airport
- 2 March 1958The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the crossing
- 14 March 1958Birth of Albert II, Prince of Monaco
- 17 March 1958Launch of Vanguard 1
- 21 March 1958Birth of Gary Oldman
- 17 April 1958Construction of Atomium
- 15 May 1958Launch of Sputnik 3
- 7 June 1958Birth of Prince
More in Universe & space
- 30 September 1975Discovery of Themisto
- 22 June 1978Discovery of Charon
- 20 January 1986Discovery of Ophelia
- 19 February 1986Launch of Mir
- 1998Supernovae show that cosmic expansion is accelerating
- 20 November 1998Launch of International Space Station
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.