Sailing Satellite masthead
Created 14-Dec-24
Modified 15-Dec-24
Visitors 3
20 photos
By mid-1957 Wham-O was enjoying initial success with the Pluto Platter. Maybe they could enjoy greater sales by expanding the market with a new disc? The media was abuzz with news about the latest developments in rocketry and mysterious technological devices to explore outer space. With that in mind, the Sailing Satellite was born, Wham-O’s first new creation—silver, of course, to mimic the shiny metal skin of real spacecraft. And, bigger is always better, right? A diameter of 11.25 inches seemed about right for young adults to navigate.
Just after Sailing Satellites were launched onto store shelves, Russia’s Sputnik rocketed into history on October 4, 1957 as man’s first object to orbit the Earth! To take advantage of the hoopla, Wham-O unabashedly added 'Play “Sputnik”' to the packaging.
In early 1958 Wham-O produced their new fleet of Sailing Satellites in bright colors to match their updated line of Pluto Platters, now bearing the “Frisbee” name. They also planned to add two more discs to their product line: the smaller 8.75-inch diameter Flying Saucer for youngsters, and the even smaller 7.875-inch Junior Flying Saucer for tiny tots.
It was all too much for the market to bear! Dealers balked at carrying all four models of an as not-yet-totally-proven product. So Wham-O backed down, scrapping the unreleased Junior Flying Saucer, and cancelling the too-large-for-kids-to-handle Sailing Satellite for 1959 leaving only the Pluto Platter and Flying Saucer models to sail on.
In 2024 it was revealed that there were Sailing Satellites made from two different molds with examples in both Silver and other colors. The more common WSS1 is slightly smaller at 11.25 inches in diameter and has bottom script dimensions of 147mm X 39mm, while the larger rarer WSS2 has a diameter of 11.5 inches and bottom script dimensions of 151mm X 45mm (see examples).
—Phil Kennedy
Just after Sailing Satellites were launched onto store shelves, Russia’s Sputnik rocketed into history on October 4, 1957 as man’s first object to orbit the Earth! To take advantage of the hoopla, Wham-O unabashedly added 'Play “Sputnik”' to the packaging.
In early 1958 Wham-O produced their new fleet of Sailing Satellites in bright colors to match their updated line of Pluto Platters, now bearing the “Frisbee” name. They also planned to add two more discs to their product line: the smaller 8.75-inch diameter Flying Saucer for youngsters, and the even smaller 7.875-inch Junior Flying Saucer for tiny tots.
It was all too much for the market to bear! Dealers balked at carrying all four models of an as not-yet-totally-proven product. So Wham-O backed down, scrapping the unreleased Junior Flying Saucer, and cancelling the too-large-for-kids-to-handle Sailing Satellite for 1959 leaving only the Pluto Platter and Flying Saucer models to sail on.
In 2024 it was revealed that there were Sailing Satellites made from two different molds with examples in both Silver and other colors. The more common WSS1 is slightly smaller at 11.25 inches in diameter and has bottom script dimensions of 147mm X 39mm, while the larger rarer WSS2 has a diameter of 11.5 inches and bottom script dimensions of 151mm X 45mm (see examples).
—Phil Kennedy
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