USA 1959 Mercury Big Joe 1

Big Joe 1 (Atlas-10D) launched an unmanned Mercury boilerplate capsule from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on September 9, 1959. The mission aimed to evaluate the spacecraft's ablative heat shield, afterbody heating, reentry dynamics, attitude control, and recovery systems, with an Atlas missile serving as the booster. This flight marked the first spacecraft launch in Project Mercury. The capsule landed 490 nautical miles short of its intended destination, and the USS Strong (DD 758), a Desflot Four destroyer, recovered it 7 hours and 54 minutes after liftoff.

Photo: Alan Shepard at the blockhouse to watch the launch of the Atlas rocket test on September 9, 1959.

Left: Launch of Big Joe 1, postmarked at Port Canaveral on September 9, 1959.
Right: Mercury capsule returned to port on September 10, 1959.

USA 1959 Able & Baker Monkey Flight

A launch cover for Able and Baker featuring a Goldcraft cachet, postmarked at Port Canaveral on May 23, 1959.

On May 28, 1959, a Jupiter rocket was launched, carrying a rhesus monkey named Miss Able and a squirrel monkey named Miss Baker. After a 16-minute flight, of which nine minutes were spent in weightlessness, the monkeys' capsule safely returned to Earth, and both were recovered in "perfect health," making them the first primates to survive such a journey. Unfortunately, Miss Able died just days after the successful flight due to an adverse reaction to anesthesia. In contrast, Miss Baker became a beloved figure among American schoolchildren during her 25 years of retirement.

Photo: The monkey operates a lever to receive food pellets, learning that it needs to pump the lever 25 times to get the food. While retrieving food in space, the monkey simultaneously transmits data to scientists on Earth.

Photo: Image of Able secured in a "space suit."

Photo: Recovery of the nose cone that transported Able and Baker by the USS Kiowa on May 28, 1959.

Photo: The space monkey Able was extracted from its capsule on Thursday after a journey through space in the nose cone of a Jupiter missile launched from Cape Canaveral. The capsule was recovered by the Navy ship Kiowa in the Atlantic, approximately 1,500 miles southeast of the launch site.

Photo: Space monkey Baker being monitored by medical staff following its journey through space.

Photo: Space monkey Able passed away in 1959 while undergoing surgery to remove a recording device that had been implanted to monitor its physical condition during the spaceflight.

USA 1959 Pioneer 4

Pioneer 4 "Goldcraft" launch cover postmarked at Port Canaveral on March 3, 1959. After the launch of Luna 1 by the Soviet Union in January 1959, the United States launched its Pioneer 4 fly-by spacecraft on March 3, 1959. Pioneer 4 approached within 60,000 kilometers (37,300 miles) of the Moon, transmitting valuable data on lunar radiation levels before eventually entering a solar orbit.

Pioneer 4 was launched on March 3, 1959, and successfully flew within 60,000 kilometers (37,300 miles) of the Moon the next day. The satellite was tracked for 82 hours, reaching a distance of 655,000 kilometers (407,000 miles) from Earth, which was a record at that time.

Photo: Dr. Wernher von Braun, John Casani, and Dr. James A. Van Allen give Pioneer 4 a final inspection before its assembly.

Pioneer 4 was the first U.S. spacecraft to achieve solar orbit. It was the only successful lunar probe among 12 attempts made by the U.S. between 1958 and 1963; it wouldn't be until 1964 that Ranger 7 would exceed its success by accomplishing all of its mission objectives.

Photo: During a press conference on March 4, 1959, Dr. Homer J. Stewart announced that the Pioneer 4 probe had successfully passed the Moon and entered into an orbit around the Sun.

Pioneer 4 launch cover featuring a Farley thermographic cachet, postmarked at Patrick Air Force Base on March 3, 1959.

Photo: An illustration depicting the flight path of Pioneer 4, the solar satellite.

(Reference from Pioneer 4)

USA 1959 Vanguard II

Vanguard 2 is a U.S. Earth-orbiting satellite that was launched on February 17, 1959, at 15:55:02 GMT, aboard a Vanguard SLV-4 rocket as part of the United States Navy's Project Vanguard. Its primary purpose was to measure cloud cover distribution during the daylight portion of its orbit for a duration of 19 days and to provide data on atmospheric density for the expected lifespan of its orbit, which is approximately 300 years. As the first weather satellite and one of the earliest orbital space missions, the launch of Vanguard 2 marked a significant milestone in the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Vanguard 2 "Goldcraft" launch cover postmarked at Port Canaveral on February 17, 1959.

Vanguard 2 "Sarzin" launch cover postmarked at Port Canaveral on February 17, 1959.

(Reference from Vanguard 2)

USA 1958 Project SCORE

On December 18, 1958, an Atlas rocket launched the Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment (SCORE) satellite, marking it as the first prototype of a communications satellite and the initial test of any satellite for direct practical applications. The communications payload was placed into low Earth orbit using Atlas serial number 10B, which did not have an upper stage. Weighing 8,750 lb (3,970 kg), Atlas 10B/SCORE became the heaviest artificial object in orbit at that time, as well as the first voice relay satellite and the first human-made object in space that could be seen with the naked eye due to its large, mirror-polished stainless steel tank. This mission initiated a long career for the Atlas as a satellite launcher.

Project SCORE "Goldcraft" launch cover, postmarked at Port Canaveral on December 18, 1958. SCORE (Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equipment) was the world’s first purpose-built communications satellite.

On the first orbit, as the satellite passed over California, the primary payload did not respond properly. Finally on 19 December, the backup tape recorder responded to coded commands from the ground and transmitted the US President's message on a short-wave frequency to the world below:
"This is the President of the United States speaking. Through the marvels of scientific advance, my voice is coming to you from a satellite traveling in outer space. My message is a simple one: Through this unique means, I convey to you and all mankind, America's wish for peace on Earth and goodwill toward men everywhere."

Photo: The Atlas relayed a dramatic Christmas message from President Eisenhower on December 19, calling for peace on Earth. The pre-recorded broadcast was received by a tracking station at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and then transmitted through the Pentagon to the White House for the President to listen to. Following this, President Eisenhower is pictured in Press Secretary Hagerty's office as he listens to a tape recording of his message for photographers.

The backup SCORE package continued to work perfectly, responding to 78 realtime and store-and-forward voice and teletype transmissions between ground stations located in Georgia, Texas, Arizona and California. After 12 days, the batteries exhausted and on 21 January 1959, the satellite re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and was destroyed.

(Reference from SCORE (satellite))

USA 1958 Gordo Monkey Flight

GORDO "Goldcraft" launch cover with Goldcraft postmarked at Port Canaveral on December 13, 1958.

A squirrel monkey named GORDO was launched in the nose cone of a Jupiter missile. Recovery attempts for the nose cone were unsuccessful due to a malfunction in the float mechanism. However, telemetry data revealed valuable biochemical information and showed that GORDO endured spaceflight and re-entry without any negative effects. He experienced 8.3 minutes of weightlessness, with 10g of pressure at liftoff and 40g of pressure during re-entry at speeds of 10,000 mph. GORDO is also known as LITTLE OLD RELIABLE.

USA 1958 Pioneer 3

Pioneer 3 "Goldcraft" launch cover, postmarked at Port Canaveral on December 6, 1958. Pioneer 3 was launched on that date, but the rocket's first stage shut off prematurely, leading to the spacecraft's failure and subsequent crash.

Pioneer 3 was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on December 6, 1958. Due to a minor miscalculation in the satellite's velocity and angle following the burnout of the Juno II rocket, it failed to reach the Moon, instead reaching a maximum altitude of 102,320 kilometers (63,580 miles). Nonetheless, the satellite successfully identified a second radiation belt surrounding Earth during its mission. Pioneer 3 reentered the Earth's atmosphere over equatorial Africa one day after its launch.

Photo: Dr. Wernher von Braun emphasized that the U.S. needed to achieve higher rocket speeds in order to compete with the Russians in space exploration. The Army's launch of the Pioneer 3 probe fell short of the required velocity to reach the moon and enter a solar orbit.

(Reference from Pioneer 3)

USA 1958 Pioneer 2

Pioneer 2 "Goldcraft" launch cover postmarked at Port Canaveral on November 8, 1958.

Pioneer 2 (also referred to as Able 3) was the final probe in the three-project Able series, designed to explore lunar and cislunar space. The launch occurred at 07:30:21 GMT on November 8, 1958. Following the failure of Pioneer 1 due to issues with its guidance system, modifications were made, incorporating a Doppler command system to enhance command accuracy and reduce trajectory errors. Unfortunately, the third stage of the launch vehicle failed to ignite, preventing Pioneer 2 from reaching orbital velocity. The spacecraft reached a maximum altitude of 1,550 km (960 mi) before reentering Earth's atmosphere at coordinates 28.7° N, 1.9° E over northwest Africa. Despite its brief flight, Pioneer 2 collected some data, indicating that the Earth's equatorial region has higher radiation flux and energy levels than previously thought, and that micrometeorite density is greater in Earth's vicinity than in outer space.

(Reference from Pioneer 2)

USA 1958 Pioneer 1

Pioneer 1 "Goldcraft" launch cover postmarked at Port Canaveral on October 11, 1958.

Pioneer 1 was launched on October 11, 1958, but it was unable to reach a lunar trajectory due to improper separation of the second and third stages. Nonetheless, it successfully collected data on the Van Allen Belt and micrometeorite impacts before reentering Earth's atmosphere on October 12, 1958. The first vehicle, Pioneer 0, was launched by the USAF but was destroyed 77 seconds after liftoff due to an explosion in the rocket's first stage. Following this attempt, Pioneer 1 and Pioneer 2 were transferred to the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Photo: A view of the moon captured using an Igor tracking telescope on August 12, 1958.

Photo: Launch of Pioneer 1 on October 11, 1958.

Pioneer 1 "Sarzin" launch cover postmarked at Port Canaveral on October 11, 1958.

Pioneer 1 launch cover postmarked at Patrick Air Force Base (PAFB) on October 11, 1958.

(Reference from Pioneer 1)

USA 1958 Vanguard 1

Vanguard 1 is a U.S. satellite that became the fourth artificial Earth-orbiting satellite when it was launched on March 17, 1958, after Sputnik 1, Sputnik 2, and Explorer 1. As the first solar-powered satellite, Vanguard 1 was intended to test the launch capabilities of a three-stage launch vehicle as part of Project Vanguard, as well as to study the effects of the space environment on a satellite and its systems in Earth orbit.

Vanguard 1 "Goldcraft" launch cover, postmarked at Patrick Air Force Base on March 17, 1958.

Vanguard 1 launch cover from "H.Flick", postmarked at Patrick Air Force Base on March 17, 1958.

Vanguard 1 "Sarzin" launch cover, postmarked at Port Canaveral on March 17, 1958.

(Reference from Vanguard 1)

USA 1958 Explorer 1

Explorer 1 launch cover with H.Flick cachet.

The United States joined the Space Race with the launch of Explorer 1 on January 31, 1958, as part of its program for the International Geophysical Year and in reaction to the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik 1.

Photo: Dr. William H. Pickering, Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1954 to 1976. Under his guidance, Pickering's team launched Explorer I aboard a Jupiter-C rocket from Cape Canaveral on January 31, 1958, less than four months after the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik. During his tenure, JPL achieved numerous successes in space missions, including Explorer, Pioneer, Mariner, Rangers 7-9, Surveyor, and Viking.

Explorer 1, recognized as the first U.S. satellite, is famous for its discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts, which are radiation zones surrounding Earth. The presence of these belts was confirmed through the Explorer 1 and Explorer 3 missions in early 1958, led by Dr. James Van Allen at the University of Iowa. Explorer 1 carried a micrometeorite detector and a cosmic ray experiment designed by Van Allen and his graduate students, with the deployment of the sensor package supervised by Ernst Stuhlinger, who also had expertise in cosmic rays. The data collected from Explorer 1 and Explorer 3 (launched on March 26, 1958) enabled the Iowa team to make the first space-age scientific discovery: the identification of a doughnut-shaped region of charged particle radiation trapped by Earth's magnetic field.

Photo: Professor Ernest Ray (left) and James Van Allen (right) analyze the orbit of Explorer 1.

Explorer 1 launch cover with Goldcraft cachet

Photo: Dr. Wernher Von Braun addresses a news conference, explaining how the Jupiter-C missile successfully launched Explorer 1 into orbit. The Jupiter-C was developed by the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) under von Braun's leadership.

Photo: An image showing the Jupiter-C missile on the launch pad.

Explorer 1 launch cover with Sarzin cachet

Photo: An illustration depicting the stages of the Explorer 1 launch.

(Reference from Explorer 1)