NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Through the combined efforts of JPL and the Army Ballistic Missile Ballistic Agency, Explorer 1 launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Jan. 31, 1958. There was a nail-biting wait before tracking stations confirmed that Explorer 1 had successfully gone into orbit around Earth. With the launch of Explorer 1, the United States entered the space age.

Image courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech

JPL photo number 293-3466

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