January 31, 1958 – US Explorer 1 Launched Beginning The Space Race January 31, 2008
Posted by showmescifi in scifi.Tags: Explorer, Explorer 1, NASA, Satellite 1958 Alpha, Sci Fi, Science, science fiction, scifi, space
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It was fifty years ago today that the US got its act together and launched its first satellite. Yes the US was behind the USSR with Sputnik but Explorer is not just a matter of historical Trivia. It was also the true beginning of the US Space Program’s Golden Era that a decade later landed the first man on the moon.
The satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral (now Cape Kennedy) in Florida at 10:48 P.M. EST on 31 January 1958 by the Jupiter-C vehicle–a special modification of the Redstone ballistic missile–that was designed, built, and launched by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) under the direction of Dr. Wernher Von Braun. Jupiter-C, a direct descendant of the German A-4 (V-2) rocket, was originally developed in 1955-1956 as a high-performance rocket for testing purposes.
NASA has put together a really tight site all about Explorer 1 – so get your fix of space history!
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That has to be a pretty out dated quote, since it was only called “Cape Kennedy” for a few years. The residents, not happy at having their cape renamed without anybody asking them, got the name turned back, with the agreement of the US Government and the Kennedy family, and the naming scheme now is “The Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.”
But good info and a good reminder otherwise!