Due to a malfunction in the second stage, the vehicle failed to enter Earth orbit as planned and crashed 12,000 km downrange.

The spherical shell was magnesium, internally gold-plated and externally covered with an aluminum deposit coated with highly polished silicon monoxide of sufficient thickness to provide thermal control for the instrumentation.

Below the package at the bottom of the sphere was the separation device, a spring loaded tube with a timer designed to push the satellite away from the third stage after orbit was reached.

Four 76 cm (30 in) spring-loaded metal rods were folded along the equator of the sphere and would protrude radially outward when deployed, acting as a turnstile antenna.

At second stage separation, there was a momentary pitching motion registered by the rate gyros which resulted in an incorrect attitude reference.

It arced upward and reached a peak altitude of 3500 kilometers before reentering and breaking up over South Africa.

This caused the vehicle to fly in a nose-upward attitude (63° to horizontal) rather than parallel to Earth at the time the third stage was deployed.

This in turn caused the third stage to fly in a high arc-like trajectory, precluding any possibility of orbit.