A satellite that failed, and a Satellite that was a hit

Today is the anniversary of the first attempt by the U.S. to put a satellite into space. It didn't go so well. According to NASA, after the Soviet Sputnik success, the U.S. accelerated its two satellite programs programs. On December 6, 1957, the Vanguard Test Vehicle 3 (TV3) rose about 4 feet into the air, when the main engine lost thrust and the rocket fell back onto the pad, exploding in a huge fireball. The press called the failed attempt “Flopnik” and “Kaputnik,” in reference to its successful Soviet counterpart. The Vanguard satellite was thrown free of the explosion and recovered.  It is currently on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. I've been to the museum before, but now I want to go back and hunt this down.

Here is the newsreel as it happened:

Hang on, the U.S. will succeed before, too long.

I went to Harrisburg Saturday to see a concert by one of my favorite bands, The Hooters, iconic rockers from Philadelphia. I heard them 35ish years ago performing in the gym at Franklin & Marshall College, just a 5-minute walk from home. (Unfortunately, that concert put the kibosh on my editor's attending rock concerts, the volume being a bit excessive.) Then I heard them two years ago in Philadelphia at The Met in Philadelphia, a great venue, just before covid. Saturday the band played at club XL Live in Harrisburg, a more intimate setting. Excellent show! Here is my video clip from their performance of Satellite:

Here is the original music video. The song isn't about Vanguard TV3, or any physical satellite for that matter, but about televangelism. It does have the magic word for its title!

And here is a recent performance of Day by Day, probably my favorite Hooters song:

"Nothing lasts forever, only fades away, day by day ... chance you gotta take, price you gotta pay, day by day"

More satellite songs to come in some future post.