The successful launch of Explorer 1, America's first satellite, helped bring the little-known Jet Propulsion Laboratory to scientific prominence and led to the creation of NASA. That was 60 years ...

So, the Explorer 1 launch "certainly salved the open wound; there's no doubt about that," former NASA Chief Historian Roger Launius told Space.com last fall. But the 30.7-lb. ...

But by late-January 1958, pressure on the Explorer 1 launch team intensified. “There was pressure on me to change my forecast, to my face and behind my back,” he recalled.

Launch team members recall the pressure to orbit a satellite. Skip to main content. Open menu Close menu ... U.S. Explorer 1 in early 1958 discovered the radiation belt around the Earth.

By Jason B. Cutshaw USASMDC/ARSTRAT Public Affairs REDSTONE ARSENAL, Alabama - Since America's beginning, the U.S. Army led the nation in exploration of the continent, and this year it celebrates ...

“The launch of Explorer 1 marked the beginning of U.S. spaceflight, as well as the scientific exploration of space, which led to a series of bold missions that have opened humanity’s eyes to ...

Two views of the Jupiter-C rocket launch that carried the Explorer 1 satellite into orbit on Jan. 31, 1958.

As America marks the 60 th anniversary of the Explorer 1 satellite launch today, Dr. Joyce Neighbors will be remembering the start of America's space program in her home on a quiet Huntsville ...

There are 334 days left in the year.Today’s Highlight in History:On Jan. 31, 1958, the United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite, Explorer 1, from Cape ...

The United States became a spacefaring nation 60 years ago today. On Jan. 31, 1958, the nation launched its first successful satellite — Explorer 1, which rode to Earth orbit atop a Jupiter-C ...

Members of the Explorer 1 team, America's first Earth satellite which was launched Jan. 31, 1958. Seated in the center and on the right are Maj. Gen. John B. Medaris, U.S. Army Ballistic Missile ...