First American Satellite Attempt
Two seconds after leaving the launch pad at cape canaveral this.
First american satellite attempt. The first successful u s. Explorer i s small package of instruments produced the first major discovery of the space age the van allen radiation. Are not affiliated with and do not endorse products or services of first american financial corporation. Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the united states and was part of the u s.
It carried instruments to study cosmic rays tiny particles whizzing through space. Space program john glenn became the first american to orbit earth. Satellite explorer was launched on january 31 1958. By then the soviets had already achieved another ideological victory when they launched a dog into orbit aboard sputnik 2 the.
This rocket was the backup for jupiter c round 27 which flew the design s maiden flight in 1956. Nasa continued to trail the soviets in space achievements until the late. On february 20 1962 in a major step for the u s. Nasa s first attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon.
A satellite is any object that orbits the earth while manmade satellites are machines that can send and receive messages. A series of malfunctions caused spacecraft to hurtle past the moon. 31 1958 at cape canaveral florida four months after russia orbited sputnik. The rocket that would attempt to launch america s first satellite was designated round 29 by abma.
Myfirstam access the powerful online services available only at first american. The first american satellite in space. Satellite explorer i was launched into earth orbit by the army on jan. 13 91 kg 30 66 lb february 5.
The first us satellite explorer 1 was launched on january 31 1958. Explorer 1 was launched on january 31 1958 at 22 48 eastern time february 1 03 48 utc. Fortune and time inc. Explorer 1 was sent into space on a rocket launcher named juno.
The 18 pound satellite had a cylindrical shape and was 80 inches long and six inches in diameter. Since this earlier test flight employed the satellite launch vehicle configuration save for a dummy fourth stage and some other instrumentation. Explorer 1 was the united states first satellite in space. The soviet union s sputnik 1 and 2 beginning the cold war space race between the two nations.