Vanguard Satellite and Launching Vehicle

Mock-up of VANGUARD satellite scientific experiment sitting on top of third stage of the launching vehicle.  A six inch satellite was put into ORBIT on March 17, 1958 (still in orbit).

Patrick Air Force Base, Florida

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Vanguard 1 was the fourth artificial Earth orbital satellite launched (after Sputnik 1, Sputnik 2, and Explorer 1), but the first satellite to be solar powered.  Although communication with it was lost in 1964, it remains the oldest manmade satellite still in orbit.