Trailblazer 1
USA 
Built & Operated By
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Government · founded 1958
Family
Trailblazer
variant 1
Maiden Flight
3 MAR 1959
About
American test vehicle. The rocket's first three stages would take the upper stage package to a 260 km apogee. The upper stage package was mounted upside-down in relation to the other stages. When it had reached the peak, the three upper stages fired in sequence, ramming the payload, a 13 cm sphere, into the atmosphere at orbital re-entry speeds.
Vehicle Specifications
Height
17.1 m
Diameter
0.58 m
Launch Mass
3 T
Thrust
365 kN
Stages
4
Configuration
Expendable
Launch Record
Total Launches
1
Successful
1
Failed
0
Consecutive
1