Beacon 1

Class: Technology. Nation: USA. Agency: U.S. Navy.

Mass: 5.00 kg (11.00 lb). Associated Launch Vehicle: Juno II, Jupiter C.

Beacon 1 Chronology

1958 October 23 - Beacon 1 - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Redstone. FAILURE: Upper stages separated prior to burnout. Structural failure after 149 sec due to vibration disturbances generated by the spinning payload. Mass: 4.00 kg (8.80 lb).
NASA¾with the Army as executive agent¾attempted to launch a 12-foot-diameter inflatable satellite of micro-thin plastic covered with aluminum foil known as BEACON. Launched from AMR by a Juno I¾a modified Redstone, the payload prematurely separated prior to booster burnout.

1959 August 15 - Beacon 2 - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Jupiter. FAILURE: First stage shut down too early; no attitude control for upper stages. Mass: 5.00 kg (11.00 lb).

Bibliography and Further Reading

Bramscher, Robert G, Spaceflight, "A Survey of Launch Vehicle Failures", 1980, Volume 22, page 351.

Krebs, Gunter, Gunter's Space Page, University of Frankfurt, 1996. Accessed at: http://www.skyrocket.de/space.

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