April 21, 1961 5:56 am

Trailblazer 1g

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Trailblazer 1

Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
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April 21, 1961 5:56 am

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Last Updated:

2026-07-13 23:32:07

An experiment where an actual ‘artificial meteorite’ was flown. This was a 5.8 g steel pellet, which was driven into the atmosphere at 6 km/sec by a ‘seventh stage’, a shaped charge that accelerated the pellet after burnout of the rocket’s six stage. This experiment provided a known reference by which the size of actual meteoroids could be measured according to the luminance of their trails.
Launch Overview
Window Open 05:56 UTC
Window Close 05:56 UTC
Lift Off Apr 21, 1961 · 05:56 UTC
Launch Facility Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Launch Pad Unknown Pad
Target Orbit Suborbital
Payload Overview
Customer National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Payload Trailblazer 1g
Rocket Trailblazer 1
Destination Suborbital
Recovery Overview
Landing Location See Mission Notes
Landing Type RTLS / Droneship
An experiment where an actual ‘artificial meteorite’ was flown. This was a 5.8 g steel pellet, which was driven into the atmosphere at 6 km/sec by a ‘seventh stage’, a shaped charge that accelerated the pellet after burnout of the rocket’s six stage. This experiment provided a known reference by which the size of actual meteoroids could be measured according to the luminance of their trails.

Height

LEO Payload

Total Launches

Status

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Unknown Pad
Launch Overview
Window Open 05:56 UTC
Window Close 05:56 UTC
Lift Off Apr 21, 1961 · 05:56 UTC
Launch Facility Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Launch Pad Unknown Pad
Target Orbit Suborbital
Payload Overview
Customer National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Payload Trailblazer 1g
Rocket Trailblazer 1
Destination Suborbital
Recovery Overview
Landing Location See Mission Notes
Landing Type RTLS / Droneship

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