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Vostok-L 8K72 | Luna-4a

Energia | Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
April 15, 1960, 3:06 p.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

Luna 1960A was the second Soviet attempt to photograph the far side of the Moon. The first being the highly successful Luna 3 mission. Luna 1960A was designed to replicate the Luna 3 mission, but with higher resolution cameras and a closer approach to the Moon.

Lunar flyby
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Thor DM-21 Ablestar | Transit 1B

United States Air Force | United States of America
Cape Canaveral, FL, USA
April 13, 1960, 12:02 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

The Transit system was the first satellite navigation system to be used operationally. The system was primarily used by the U.S. Navy to provide accurate location information to its Polaris ballistic missile submarines, and it was also used as a navigation system by the Navy's surface ships, as well as for hydrographic survey and geodetic surveying.

Polar Orbit
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Thor Able II | Tiros 1

McDonnell Douglas | United States of America
Cape Canaveral, FL, USA
April 1, 1960, 11:40 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

TIROS-1 was the first successful low-Earth orbital weather satellite, and the first of a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites.

Low Earth Orbit
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Juno II | NASA S-46

Army Ballistic Missile Agency | United States of America
Cape Canaveral, FL, USA
March 23, 1960, 1:35 p.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

Explorer 5 was a United States satellite with a mass of 15.7 kg. It was the last of the original series of Explorers built, designed, and operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Medium Earth Orbit
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Thor Able IV | Pioneer V

McDonnell Douglas | United States of America
Cape Canaveral, FL, USA
March 11, 1960, 1 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Pioneer 5 was a spin-stabilized space probe in the NASA Pioneer program used to investigate interplanetary space between the orbits of Earth and Venus.

Heliocentric N/A
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Atlas Agena A | Midas 1

Convair | United States of America
Cape Canaveral, FL, USA
Feb. 26, 1960, 5:25 p.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

The MIDAS Series 1 (Military Defense Alarm System) satellites, MIDAS 1 and 2, were the first development models for the MIDAS early warning system.

Low Earth Orbit
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Thor Agena A | Discoverer 10

McDonnell Douglas | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Feb. 19, 1960, 8:15 p.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

Discoverer 10 was an American optical reconnaissance satellite, the seventh of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series.

Low Earth Orbit
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Thor Agena A | Discoverer 9

McDonnell Douglas | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Feb. 4, 1960, 6:51 p.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

Discoverer 9 was an American optical reconnaissance satellite, the sixth of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series, and the first of them to be equipped with a new, vacuum-proof, polyester-based film. The satellite was not successfully orbited.

Low Earth Orbit
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Little Joe | LJ-1B

North American Aviation | United States of America
Wallops Island, Virginia, USA
Jan. 21, 1960, 2:23 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

The Little Joe 1B was a suborbital launch escape system test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program. The mission also carried a female rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) named Miss Sam in the Mercury spacecraft.

Suborbital
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Little Joe | LJ-2

North American Aviation | United States of America
Wallops Island, Virginia, USA
Dec. 4, 1959, 4:20 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

The Little Joe 2 was a suborbital test flight of the Mercury space capsule, carrying the rhesus monkey Sam close to the edge of space. He was sent to test the space equipment and the adverse effects of space on humans.

Suborbital
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