In 1957, nations participating in the International Geophysical Year (IGY), the first attempt to figure out how our whole planet works, were asked to launch an Earth-orbiting satellite. The Americans and the Soviets competed to be the first country into space. The Vanguard Rocket was to be the vehicle to launch America's first satellite into orbit. But the Soviets shocked America by launching the Sputnik satellite first.
Although only the first stage of the Vanguard rocket had been tested, Sputnik panicked the White House into launching before the Vanguard was ready. It was announced that the test flight scheduled for the Vanguard on December 6, 1957 would be an official launch instead. As a result, on the morning of the sixth, Vanguard rose four feet from the ground and then dropped back onto the launchpad and exploded.
The press called the Vanguard satellite "Rearguard," "Kaputnik," and "Stayputnik." But rocket genius Wernher von Braun was ready to help the country save face. Early on, he'd been convinced that Vanguard would never be successful. At a dinner party on the evening of Sputnik's launch, he cornered Neil McElroy, who was about to become Secretary of Defense, and asked for permission to prepare an alternate launch.
In truth, von Braun and his team had already been working unofficially on another rocket called Jupiter C -- just in case the Vanguard project failed. McElroy sanctioned the Jupiter C project, and, on January 31, 1958, the satellite Explorer I was successfully launched into orbit. Von Braun became a national hero, the man who rose to meet the challenge of the Communist menace in space.
