Vanguard 2

Vanguard 2 Live Tracker

Vanguard 2 was an artificial satellite launched on February 17, 1959 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with a Vanguard rocket as part of the Vanguard project. It was the first meteorological satellite in history.

The satellite was a sphere of magnesium with a diameter of 50.8 cm and weighed 10.8 kg; internally the sphere was gold plated and externally it was covered with an aluminum deposit covered in turn with silicon oxide of sufficient thickness to obtain the thermal control of the instrumentation. The satellite contained two optical telescopes with two photocells and a radio communications system. The electrical energy for the instrumentation was supplied by mercury batteries.

The satellite had the task of measuring the density of atmospheric clouds as a function of altitude, latitude, season and solar activity. During the 19 days of the planned mission, the equipment worked normally, but the optical instruments could collect little data because it was not possible to obtain a satisfactory orientation of the satellite's rotation axis.