Explorer 1 was less than 2 meters long and weighed about 13.4 kg. The model William Hayward Pickering, James Van Allen, and Wernher von Braun are brandishing triumphantly in this photo is the ...

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 rocket ...

Explorer 1 was front-page news across the U.S. The first successful U.S. satellite was often called a "moon" or a "man-made moon" then. American journalist and anchorman Walter Cronkite uses models to ...

On March 26, 1958, the United States launched its third satellite into space. Explorer 3 was almost identical to Explorer 1, which was the first satellite the U.S. ever launched. Explorer 3 launched ...

The United States Army launched Explorer 3, its second successful satellite launch in the Explorer program, on March 26, 1958. Explorer 1’s major accomplishment was the discovery of the Van Allen ...

IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more. This artifact is one of several ...

George Ludwig, a graduate student who worked with physicist James Van Allen at the University of Iowa, is seen here testing the Explorer 1 instruments as the satellite was prepared for launch. When ...