Pioneer 0

Pioneer 0, also known as Able 1, was a United States space probe designed to enter orbit around the Moon and carry a television camera, a micrometeorite detector and a magnetometer. It belonged to the first International Geophysical Year science payload and was built and operated by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division as the first spacecraft of the Pioneer program. It was the first attempted launch beyond Earth orbit by any country. The probe was launched on Thor missile number 127 from Cape Canaveral on 17 August 1958, but the rocket failed shortly after liftoff: a sudden loss of thrust led the Thor to lose attitude control and the tank to rupture under aerodynamic loads, destroying the launch vehicle. Because of the failure the probe never received its intended name, Pioneer or Pioneer 1. It was the only mission of Project Able-1 run entirely by the Air Force.