Vanguard

Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin · Maiden flight: 23 October 1957 · Wikipedia (opens in new tab)

Launches11

Successes3

Failures8

Success rate27.3%

The Vanguard rocket was intended to be the first launch vehicle the United States would use to place a satellite into orbit. Instead, the Sputnik crisis caused by the surprise launch of Sputnik 1 led the U.S., after the failure of Vanguard TV3, to quickly orbit the Explorer 1 satellite using a Juno I rocket, making Vanguard I the second successful U.S. orbital launch.