Previous Spaceflight Launches

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Thor Agena A | Discoverer 8

McDonnell Douglas | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Nov. 20, 1959, 7:25 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

The KH-1 (Keyhole-1) was the first attempt in the Corona-program to build an optical reconnaissance satellite. These satellites were all launched under the name Discoverer.

Low Earth Orbit
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Thor Agena A | Discoverer 7

McDonnell Douglas | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Nov. 7, 1959, 8:28 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

The KH-1 (Keyhole-1) was the first attempt in the Corona-program to build an optical reconnaissance satellite. These satellites were all launched under the name Discoverer.

Low Earth Orbit
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Little Joe | LJ-1A

North American Aviation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Nov. 4, 1959, 2:30 p.m.
Status: Launch was a Partial Failure
Mission:

Little Joe 1A (LJ-1A) was an unmanned rocket launched as part of NASA's Mercury program on November 4, 1959. This flight, a repeat of the Little Joe 1 (LJ-1) launch, was to test a launch abort under high aerodynamic load conditions. Due to a delayed in the escape motor startup, the abort maneuver was not accomplished at the desired dynamic pressure, requiring a repeat of the test.

Suborbital
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Juno II | Explorer 7

Army Ballistic Missile Agency | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Oct. 13, 1959, 3:30 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Explorer 7 was designed to measure solar x-ray and Lyman-alpha flux, trapped energetic particles, and heavy primary cosmic rays. Secondary objectives included collecting data on micrometeoroid penetration, molecular sputtering and studying the Earth-atmosphere heat balance.

Low Earth Orbit
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Little Joe | LJ-6

North American Aviation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Oct. 4, 1959, 10 a.m.
Status: Launch was a Partial Failure
Mission:

The Little Joe 6 was a launch escape system test of the Mercury spacecraft, conducted as part of the U.S. Mercury program.

Suborbital
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Vostok-L 8K72 | Luna-3

Energia | Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Oct. 4, 1959, 12:43 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Luna 3 was a Soviet spacecraft and was the first ever mission to photograph the far side of the moon.

Lunar flyby
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Vanguard | Vanguard III

Lockheed Martin | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Sept. 18, 1959, 5:20 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Vanguard 3 is a scientific satellite to measure the Earth's magnetic field, solar X-ray radiation and its effects on the Earth's atmosphere and the near-Earth micrometeoroid environment.

Medium Earth Orbit
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Thor Able II | Transit 1A

McDonnell Douglas | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Sept. 17, 1959, 2:34 p.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Mission:

The Transit satellite system was the first satellite navigation system to be used operationally. The system was used to provide accurate location for the US Navy ships. Transit 1A failed to make orbit.

Low Earth Orbit
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Vostok-L 8K72 | Luna-2

Energia | Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Sept. 12, 1959, 6:39 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Luna 2 successfully impacted the Moon's surface making it the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon and the first human-made object to make contact with another celestial body.

Lunar Impactor
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Atlas LV-3B | Big Joe 1

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Sept. 9, 1959, 8:19 a.m.
Status: Launch was a Partial Failure
Mission:

Suborbital flight with the objective of testing the Mercury spacecraft ablative heat shield. The Atlas booster section failed to jettison, leading to a lower apogee. It was nonetheless sufficient to satisfy the Mercury spacecraft team.

Suborbital
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