Rocket launches in1958

Juno I puts Explorer 1 into orbit on the night of January 31, giving the USA its first satellite; the instruments detect what becomes known as the Van Allen radiation belts. Vanguard reaches orbit in March on its third attempt, carrying a grapefruit-sized sphere still tracked today — the oldest artificial object in orbit.

Monthly Cadencecomplete

DECpeak10 launches↑125%vs 1957

launches: 63
success · 27/63: 43%
provider: 1

1958 launch leaders

Countries

USA

02 Russia 11

Countries

USA

02 Russia 11

Rockets

Thor

1958 highlights

Feb 1Juno I

Success

Explorer 1, America's first satellite, finds belts of radiation around Earth

Its radiation counter found charged particles trapped by Earth's magnetic field. They were named the Van Allen belts after the physicist who built the counter.

Mar 17Vanguard

Success

Vanguard 1 becomes the first satellite to run on solar power

Its solar cells kept its radio sending until 1964. Tracking the grapefruit-sized satellite showed Earth is slightly pear-shaped.

May 15Sputnik

Success

Sputnik 3 carries a 1.3-tonne science laboratory into orbit

Its 12 instruments studied cosmic rays, magnetic fields and the upper atmosphere. It was about 100 times heavier than any US satellite then flying.

Oct 11Thor DM-18 Able-I

Failure

Pioneer 1, NASA's first launch, climbs 113,800 km toward the Moon

It fell short of orbiting the Moon, but it flew higher than any spacecraft before it. NASA had started work 10 days earlier.

Dec 18Atlas B

Success

SCORE, the first communications satellite, broadcasts Eisenhower's voice

It played a taped Christmas greeting from the president wishing peace on Earth. Ground stations also used it to relay voice and teletype messages.

All 1958 launches

Quick filters

63 launches


January
Jan 10, 195815:48:00 UTC	ICBM test USA • Atlas A	-	Atlas A	Success
Jan 28, 195820:16:00 UTCFailure	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18	-	Thor DM-18	Failure
Jan 29, 195821:15:00 UTCFailure	M1-11 Russia • R-7	-	R-7	Failure
February
Feb 1, 195803:47:00 UTC	Explorer 1 USA • Juno I	-	Juno I	Success
Feb 5, 195800:00:00 UTCFailure	Vanguard TV3 Backup USA • Vanguard	-	Vanguard	Failure
Feb 7, 195819:37:00 UTCFailure	ICBM test USA • Atlas A	-	Atlas A	Failure
Feb 20, 195817:46:00 UTCFailure	ICBM test USA • Atlas A	-	Atlas A	Failure
Feb 28, 195813:08:00 UTCFailure	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18	-	Thor DM-18	Failure
March
Mar 5, 195818:27:00 UTCFailure	Explorer 2 USA • Juno I	-	Juno I	Failure
Mar 17, 195812:15:41 UTC	Vanguard TV4 USA • Vanguard	-	Vanguard	Success
Mar 26, 195817:38:00 UTC	Explorer 3 USA • Juno I	-	Juno I	Success
Mar 29, 195814:40:00 UTC	M1-10 Russia • R-7	-	R-7	Success
April
Apr 4, 195815:30:00 UTC	M1-12 Russia • R-7	-	R-7	Success
Apr 5, 195817:01:00 UTCFailure	ICBM test USA • Atlas A	-	Atlas A	Failure
Apr 19, 195813:30:00 UTCFailure	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18	-	Thor DM-18	Failure
Apr 24, 195800:10:00 UTCFailure	RTV test USA • Thor DM-18 Able	-	Thor DM-18 Able	Failure
Apr 27, 195809:01:00 UTCFailure	D1 s/n. 1 Russia • Sputnik	-	Sputnik	Failure
Apr 29, 195802:53:00 UTCFailure	Vanguard TV5 USA • Vanguard	-	Vanguard	Failure
May
May 15, 195807:00:00 UTC	Sputnik 3 Russia • Sputnik	-	Sputnik	Success
May 18, 195800:00:00 UTC	AM-5 USA • Jupiter	-	Jupiter	Success
May 24, 195810:30:00 UTCFailure	B1-3 Russia • R-7	-	R-7	Failure
May 27, 195803:46:00 UTCFailure	Vanguard SLV-1 USA • Vanguard	-	Vanguard	Failure
June
Jun 3, 195821:28:00 UTC	ICBM test USA • Atlas A	-	Atlas A	Success
Jun 4, 195821:17:00 UTC	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18	-	Thor DM-18	Success
Jun 13, 195815:06:00 UTC	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18	-	Thor DM-18	Success
Jun 26, 195805:00:00 UTCFailure	Vanguard SLV-2 USA • Vanguard	-	Vanguard	Failure
July
Jul 10, 195807:42:00 UTCFailure	B1-4 Russia • R-7	-	R-7	Failure
Jul 10, 195815:06:00 UTC	RTV test USA • Thor DM-18 Able	-	Thor DM-18 Able	Success
Jul 13, 195806:36:00 UTC	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18	-	Thor DM-18	Success
Jul 17, 195800:00:00 UTC	AM-6B USA • Jupiter	-	Jupiter	Success
Jul 19, 195817:36:00 UTCFailure	ICBM test USA • Atlas B	-	Atlas B	Failure
Jul 23, 195822:13:00 UTC	RTV test USA • Thor DM-18 Able	-	Thor DM-18 Able	Success
Jul 26, 195806:40:00 UTCFailure	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18	-	Thor DM-18	Failure
Jul 26, 195815:00:00 UTC	Explorer 4 USA • Juno I	-	Juno I	Success
August
Aug 2, 195822:16:00 UTC	ICBM test USA • Atlas B	-	Atlas B	Success
Aug 6, 195800:00:00 UTC	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18	-	Thor DM-18	Success
Aug 17, 195812:18:00 UTCFailure	Pioneer 0 USA • Thor DM-18 Able-I	-	Thor DM-18 Able-I	Failure
Aug 24, 195806:17:00 UTCFailure	Explorer 5 USA • Juno I	-	Juno I	Failure
Aug 27, 195800:00:00 UTC	AM-7 USA • Jupiter	-	Jupiter	Success
Aug 29, 195804:30:00 UTC	ICBM test USA • Atlas B	-	Atlas B	Success
September
Sep 14, 195805:24:00 UTC	ICBM test USA • Atlas B	-	Atlas B	Success
Sep 18, 195821:27:00 UTCFailure	ICBM test USA • Atlas B	-	Atlas B	Failure
Sep 23, 195807:40:00 UTCFailure	Luna 1958A Russia • Luna	-	Luna	Failure
Sep 26, 195815:38:00 UTCFailure	Vanguard SLV-3 USA • Vanguard	-	Vanguard	Failure
October
Oct 10, 195800:00:00 UTCFailure	AM-9 USA • Jupiter	-	Jupiter	Failure
Oct 11, 195808:42:13 UTCFailure	Pioneer 1 USA • Thor DM-18 Able-I	-	Thor DM-18 Able-I	Failure
Oct 11, 195821:42:00 UTCFailure	Luna 1958B Russia • Luna	-	Luna	Failure
Oct 23, 195803:21:00 UTCFailure	Beacon satellite USA • Juno I	-	Juno I	Failure
November
Nov 5, 195808:53:00 UTCFailure	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18A	-	Thor DM-18A	Failure
Nov 8, 195808:42:13 UTCFailure	Pioneer 2 USA • Thor DM-18 Able-I	-	Thor DM-18 Able-I	Failure
Nov 18, 195804:00:00 UTCPartial failure	ICBM test USA • Atlas B	-	Atlas B	partial failure
Nov 26, 195809:09:00 UTCPartial failure	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18A	-	Thor DM-18A	partial failure
Nov 29, 195802:27:00 UTC	ICBM test USA • Atlas B	-	Atlas B	Success
December
Dec 4, 195818:18:00 UTCFailure	Luna 1958C Russia • Luna	-	Luna	Failure
Dec 6, 195800:00:00 UTCPartial failure	Pioneer 3 USA • Juno II	-	Juno II	partial failure
Dec 6, 195800:41:00 UTCPartial failure	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18A	-	Thor DM-18A	partial failure
Dec 13, 195800:00:00 UTC	Biological nose cone w/ squirrel monkey USA • Jupiter	-	Jupiter	Success
Dec 16, 195823:44:45 UTC	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18A	-	Thor DM-18A	Success
Dec 17, 195804:00:00 UTC	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18A	-	Thor DM-18A	Success
Dec 18, 195823:02:00 UTC	SCORE USA • Atlas B	-	Atlas B	Success
Dec 24, 195804:45:00 UTC	ICBM test USA • Atlas C	-	Atlas C	Success
Dec 24, 195816:00:00 UTCFailure	B3-16 Russia • R-7	-	R-7	Failure
Dec 31, 195802:00:00 UTCFailure	Missile test USA • Thor DM-18A	-	Thor DM-18A	Failure