A half-century ago today — January 24, 1962 — a Thor AbleStar rocket out of Cape Canaveral attempted, but failed, to launch a group of five small satellites for the U.S. Navy.
(SOLRAD-1, the precursor to SOLRAD-4. US Navy image.)
The launch was called Composite-1, or “Buckshot,” and intended to launch:
- SOLRAD-4 (Solar Radiation or SR-4) — intended to measure and analyze solar emissions, but also incorporating the GREB IV (Galactic Radiation Experimental Background, also known as Galactic Radiation and Background, or GRAB) reconnaissance payload
- Lofti III — Low-Frequency Trans-Ionospheric satellite, a follow-on to Lofti-I
- Injun-II — a University of Iowa payload to study the Van Allen radiation belt
- Secor — Sequential Collation of Range, an experiment in geolocation
- Surcal — Surveillance Calibration satellite, used to calibrate the Naval Space Surveillance system
According to the 02/01/62 issue of FLIGHT International, the launch failed because “the second stage of the Thor AbleStar failed to build up thrust after ignition.”
by 
