The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.
The earliest event was in 1956, the latest event was in 1986.
One milestone event (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
NONE
Military and Classified Programs:
1964 – USAF accepts the first of the flight test versions of the Titan III program – MILESTONE: 60 years ago
1973 – LAUNCH FAILURE: Classified mission, MM Titan 24B, SLC4W, VAFB – Lockheed Agena upper stage
1976 – LAUNCH: IMEWS 6 (early DSP), MM Titan IIIC, LC40, CCAFS
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
NONE
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
1958 – LAUNCH FAILURE: Vanguard 2C, Martin Vanguard SLV-2, LC18A, CCAFS – Stage 2 propulsion failure
Commercial Programs:
NONE
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1956 – LAUNCH: Lockheed X-17, LC3, CCAFS
1961 – LAUNCH FAILURE: Lockheed Polaris A2, EAG-154, ETR
1962 – LAUNCH: GD Atlas D, 576-A2, VAFB
1966 – LAUNCH: GD Atlas D, 576-B, VAFB
1976 – LAUNCH (2): Lockheed Poseidon C3, SSBN640, ETR
1982 – LAUNCH (2): Lockheed Poseidon C3, SSBN620, ETR
1986 – LAUNCH: MM Pershing 2, LC16, CCAFS
Other:
NONE
The photo today is of the Vanguard SLV-2 launch vehicle on the pad prior to the launch of Vanguard 2C. Photo Credit: Naval Research Laboratory historic photos/public domain.
The launch failed during Stage 2 flight. Here is a description of the mission from Wikipedia:
Liftoff was nominal, but low oxidizer feed pressure caused the second stage rocket engine to shut down after firing for only 8 seconds, 152.6 seconds after launch, resulting in insufficient velocity to arm the third stage for firing and causing termination of the flight. The premature shutdown caused the propellant tank pressures to exceed design values without failing, proving the structural integrity of the tanks.
