Explorer 1 was the first artificial satellite launched by the United States, sent into orbit on a Juno I rocket from Cape Canaveral a few months after the Soviet Union had launched Sputnik. It was built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with the launcher developed by the Army team of Wernher von Braun. The satellite carried a cosmic-ray detector designed by James Van Allen of the University of Iowa. Its data revealed unexpectedly intense bands of charged particles trapped by the Earth's magnetic field, which came to be called the Van Allen radiation belts. It was one of the first major scientific discoveries of the Space Age, and Explorer 1 remained in orbit for over a decade before burning up on re-entry.
Before and after
- from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962Founding of West Indies Federation
- 19 January 1958Origins of Canadian Football League
- 23 January 1958Establishment of Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
- 26 January 1958Birth of Ellen DeGeneres
- 1 February 1958Launch of Explorer 1
- 6 February 1958Munich air disaster
- March 1958Start of the Keeling curve at Mauna Loa
- 2 March 1958Construction of Beijing Capital International Airport
- 2 March 1958The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the crossing
More in Universe & space
- 1 May 1949Discovery of Nereid
- 5 March 1979Discovery of Thebe
- 8 July 1979Discovery of Adrastea
- 16 June 1989Discovery of Proteus
- 23 July 1995Discovery of Comet Hale-Bopp
- 15 May 2005Discovery of Nix
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.