The First US Attempt at Lunar Orbit
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The launch vehicle was the first Thor DM-18 Able rocket; which failed. I have always wondered if this rocket was named for Valiant Thor, an alien said to be working with the Pentagon since being captured in a UFO incident years prior. He is said to have an IQ of 1200 and provide technological subject matter expertise. Some call him a prisoner; but I doubt that anyone that advanced would have much trouble evading earth bound confinement ... but I digress yet again.
The hardware was manufactured by TRW Space Technology Laboratories. It was launched at Cape Canaveral LC-17A. Thor-Able 1 as the mission is sometimes called was designed to enter the moon's orbit with various scientific equipment payloads featuring a magnetometer, micrometeoroid impact detector, and a television.
It was deployed in conjunction with the first IGY (international geophysical year). The probe was ultimately to be known as Pioneer 1 prior to the post USAF launch failure of Thor missile number 127 at 12:18:00 UTC on August 17, 1958 — precluding that from happening. Destruction was 73.6 seconds into the mission and was the result of a first stage explosion for which the Air Force was "not surprised".
Not surprisingly, that was the last Pioneer mission conducted by the Air Force with subsequent launches being handled by NASA.