the third-stage used in Alleghany
ballistics laboratory solid propellant
motor which was designed for use as an
advanced high-performance third stage
for Vanguard an explosive both separated
the third stage from the payload and
fourth stage the able one vernier and
spin motors were also developed for the
Vanguard
program the fourth stage rocket was a
solid fuel fire call corporation motor
state trajectory for Abel one required a
high degree of precision in launching
time a period of about 20 minutes of
each of four successive days constituted
the permissible launch time because of
the required timing accuracy several
scheduled holes were incorporated into
the countdown the countdown included
second stage propellant loading
electrical systems checks and the
ordnance task first stage engine checks
and fuelling power removal regulator
setting and liquid oxygen fuelling
then terminal cows and finally launched
at seventy three and six ten seconds as
turbo pump failed and the liquid oxygen
comes down the experiment was an
apparent failure but science learns from
failure as well as success on October
10th at 3:42 a.m. Eastern Standard Time
the second experiment in this series
report for able one space probe under
the management of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration
achieved a near-perfect take off just 13
seconds later than scheduled time good
performance was obtained from both the
first and second stages however the
second stage velocity was 190 feet per
second rest and expected and it shut
down the second stage was lofted three
degrees - hi the third stage velocity
was 500 feet per second less than
desired the Millstone radar station at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
acquired and tracked the second stage
the Manchester station as the Jodrell
Bank radio telescope installation
Manchester University tracks the
payloads pioneer one for several hours
on each day of the two days flight the
first day the Hawaii station tracked
from the time Pioneer one was acquired
until it sank below the horizon on the
second day
Hawaii tracked the payload as it
approached the earth and lost it as its
funds toward the sea in the southeastern
Pacific because of the deficiencies in
the speed of the second and third stages
all vernier Rockets were fired in an
attempt to make up this velocity deficit
the added impulse was not sufficient and
escape velocity was not achieved the
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration estimated that the fourth
stage and payload reached an altitude of
70,000 717 statute miles an attempt was
scheduled on December 6th to place a
United States space probe beyond the
moon Jupiter was selected as boost
vehicle for this Juno to rocket which
was to launch pioneer 3 as the army
ballistic missile agency Huntsville
Alabama the first stage was modified for
this mission
and test run on the west coast in
Pasadena California
@n ASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory the
second third and fourth stages were
assembled the payload cone undergoing
vibration testing was 23 inches long and
10 inches at maximum diameter
several days before scheduled launch
time the first stage was brought to the
launching path the morning before launch
the payload was hoisted positioned in
the vehicle and given final checkout a
few hours before launch the fuelling
operation began
on December 6th June o2 stood ready on
the launching pad
it weighed 120 1000 pounds at liftoff
after the burnout of the first stage the
booster motors separated from the
guidance compartment and those sections
almost simultaneously the nose section
was detached by an explosive charge and
moved out of the way by a small rocket
motor meanwhile Jets of the guidance
system were activated to place the
high-speed stages and the payload in
proper firing attitude of direction a
brief period of coasting followed now
with the rocket in effect aimed at its
target the spin stabilized high-speed
stages commenced their firing sequence
with the firing of the last stage rocket
the probe has now achieved escape
velocity
after a long period of coasting about
ten hours the burned-out fourth stage is
separated from the probe payload and a
d-- spinning device consisting of
weights attached to wires is activated
to stop the spinning motion of the probe
the probe payload will now coast on into
space pioneer three rose to an altitude
of sixty 3580 statute miles during 1958
a large segment of the nation scientists
engineers and production experts were
drawn together and given direction
against this background the country
carried out a series of space
experiments that yielded valuable data
to the world store of scientific
knowledge there were a number of
failures during the year and the United
States promptly announced them the first
and most spectacular of these was
Vanguard at the end of 1957 when other
Vanguard failures all achieved takeoff
but trouble occurred either in the
second or third stages explorers two and
five beacon and pioneer two were also
considered unsuccessful experiments a
beginning has been made of which we may
well be proud we are however only just
over the threshold much research
re-evaluation and work lies ahead for us
the United States is aware of the
magnitude of the challenge and aware
that it must be fully met
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