Two minutes and fifteen seconds after launch, at an altitude of 50 miles (80 km), the Thor exploded and sent the hapless rodent into the Atlantic Ocean instead of space.

The cause of the failure was traced to a turbopump bearing coming loose and resulting in pump shutdown and instant loss of thrust.

The booster, including the unproven Able stage, performed successfully and the biological nose cone was driven back into the atmosphere for a splashdown in the South Atlantic, but recovery crews failed to locate the capsule and it sank into the ocean.

The press refused to call the mouse by the name of MIA III, so she was instead christened "Wickie", after a local female news reporter who had covered the space program at Cape Canaveral.

This flight took place on 17 August, but ended embarrassingly when the Thor exploded 77 seconds into the launch due to another turbopump malfunction.

The next six Thor-Able flights were suborbital tests for the Air Force (23 January, 28 February, 21 March, 8 April, 20 May, and 11 June 1959).