Hawk Vanguard

I was born just a few weeks after Sputnik went up, so I didn't have the chance to experience the wonder and apparently fear that came along with it. The first memory I have of spaceflight was John Glenn's flight, and that got me hooked on astronauts and space. That later became a career, although not as an astronaut (those horrible medical tests the astronaut candidates went through were more than I wanted to go through!). I still watch satellites, although it is harder to do now that I am in SoCal. There are so many amazing things going on right now, like seeing Pluto close up with the New Horizons spacecraft on July 14, and the weird things we are seeing on the dwarf planet Ceres. Unfortunately, manned spaceflight is dull as dirt, with us stuck in low earth orbit for the past 40+ years. No wonder kids don't have the same level of excitement that we used to have.

I remember when these first satellites went up. The whole neighborhood would be outside at night watching the skies for what we were told would be a fast moving point of light. The newspaper and local TV stations would of course publish the time to look skyward. There were of course the numerous false alarms of some kid spotting an airplane with its flashing lights. I know that because I was one of them! There was also that effect of false movement you get when you stare at a point of light. With patience though you would be treated to a spectacular event you could tell at school. It was a time when the entire world, not  just the USA, was fascinated by all things space related. I consider myself fortunate to have been there and felt the excitement. Sadly, its something my children and now my grandchildren will never experience.

If you were around back then you know exactly what I mean.

You got me interested in Vanguard 1. According to this NASA website, it was 16.5 cm dia and 1.47 kg. I had no idea we ever launched anything so small, and thanks to  liegghio for pointing that out.

Have fun with your kit!

Liegghio

. (Atomic man-hole cover from1955 nuclear test has since been debunked).

Way to look at that is that it must be in the original ballistic trajectory since manholes don't have maneuvering thrusters.  So perigee, regardless of apogee, must be at ground level.  At end of first orbit, it would have burned up trying to reach that perigee!

I'm going to make a Herculean effort to avoid my usual Advanced Modeler Syndrome and build it bone stock while pretending that I'm 10 years old again.

I've done a lot of satellite observing, and can tell you that you need a decent-sized scope or very big binoculars to see Vanguard.

I will definitely be careful to find references for the first Vanguard. It could be a fun project.

Lots of images online. Be careful you don't use references for later Vaguards which were larger and different. The toughest thing might be to build the 6 small solar cell modules on the outside of the satellite. The radio whips  will also need to be much longer.

One thing Vanguard one has going for it over the Russian trucks, is that it went into a higher orbit and is now the oldest man-made object in space. (Atomic man-hole cover from1955 nuclear test has since been debunked). NASAs satellite tracking application still allows you to see where the satellite and its upper stage booster are at any moment.

Have you guys seen that movie The Right Stuff. Good flick I remember enjoying it but haven't seen it on the tube for years now. One of the things the former U.S.S.R was laughing about was our rockets kept blowing up. Took a brave man to set on top of one of those things, I don't blame Shepard one bit I would have pessed on myself too...

Thanks! I might just pick it up, as it pretty cheap, and then see if I can find some references to accurize it. It would go well with my Glenco Explorer I.

I built it as a kid when it was first released. It is not accurate in details,  but if I recall correctly, I think the real Vanguard I satellite was only about the size of a grapefruit so this kit may give you the rare opportunity of building a model that is 1:1 scale! I remember the USSR had a big laugh over how dinky the thing was compared to the dump trucks they were putting in space.