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October 1958 – Pioneer 1 Launched

November 1958 - Pioneer 1
Pioneer 1 was launched weighing 84 pounds (38 kilograms). Pioneer, the first lunar space program under NASA was created to measure cosmic radiation between the Earth and the Moon and to discover more information about the Moon. Pioneer would be the first spacecraft to utilize the L-band for communications. Antennas used for the Explorer program…

Pioneer 1 was launched weighing 84 pounds (38 kilograms). Pioneer, the first lunar space program under NASA was created to measure cosmic radiation between the Earth and the Moon and to discover more information about the Moon. Pioneer would be the first spacecraft to utilize the L-band for communications. Antennas used for the Explorer program were deemed not powerful or precise enough for the distances that Pioneer was going to travel.

› Pioneer 1› Uplink-Downlink, A History of the Deep Space Network 1957 – 1997 (PDF)› SCaN History of the 1950’s