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.
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