 Vanguard rocket on LC-18A prior to its launch | |
| Names | Vanguard Space Launch Vehicle-Five |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Magnetic Field Experiment Air Density Experiment |
| Operator | Naval Research Laboratory |
| Mission duration | Failed to orbit (500 seconds) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Vanguard 3A |
| Spacecraft type | Vanguard |
| Manufacturer | Naval Research Laboratory |
| Launch mass | 10.3 kg (23 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 14 April 1959, 02:49:46 GMT |
| Rocket | Vanguard SLV-5 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, LC-18A |
| Contractor | Glenn L. Martin Company |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | Failed to orbit |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit (planned) |
| Regime | Medium Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 655 km |
| Apogee altitude | 3840 km |
| Inclination | 34.20° |
| Period | 134.0 minutes |
| Instruments | |
| Magnetometer | |
Vanguard SLV-5, also called Vanguard Satellite Launch Vehicle-Five hoped to be the third successful flight of the American Vanguard rocket following the successful Vanguard 2 satellite on rocket Vanguard SLV-4.