A

David

Darling

Starfish

Starfish was the designation of two early United States Air Force and Atomic Energy Commission satellites designed to collect data on radiation resulting from nuclear explosions in the atmosphere and in space. The second in the series was lost when its launch vehicle was destroyed by the range safety officer. Both were launched by Thor-Agena D rockets from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

 

spacecraft launch date orbit mass (kg)
Starfish 1 Oct. 26, 1962 197 × 5,458 km × 71.4° 1,100
Starfish 2 Sep. 2, 1965 launch failure 1,150