January 31, 1958 – Explorer 1: America's First Satellite

[cr4moose]

Fifty years ago today, the U.S. Army (not NASA) sent America's first satellite, Explorer 1, into space. What did Explorer 1 do? Why did it matter? Who were the scientists behind the scenes? This article tells all.<br /><br />http://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/4784/January-31-1958-Explorer-1-America-s-First-Satellite<br /><br />

 

[3488]

Hi CR4Moose,<br /><br />Is that your own website? Very interesting, I wil be checking it regularly.<br /><br />I think the most important discovery of all was the Van Allen Belts. That was a most<br />crucial find, a lasting legacy.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[billslugg]

Back in 1991 I went to a CalTech archive just east of LAX. I was going through a drawer of old papers and I found an ancient copy of Van Allen's paper he wrote at the conclusion of that mission. It had pictures of his geiger counter. It had vacuum tubes in it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[venator_3000]

It's interesting to note that the Jet Propulsion Lab, in collaboration with ABMA, actually succeeded almost before NASA even existed. <br /><br />In a sense, JPL has had a solid program of exploration as well as a superb record of success, despite being "under" the NASA umbrella. <br /><br />I also wonder if manned space exploration would have fared better under the military rather than a civilian agency. Hard to say.<br /><br />Nice article at your website.<br /><br />v3k <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[venator_3000]

That's rather interesting. I have an old booklet from JPL called "Man's Future in Space" that shows something like the image you describe. It was published around 1964/65. <br /><br />Van Allen spent years developing these instruments and flew them into aurorae using a combination balloon and rocket. I read a biography about him and this work. They were called rockoons. They flew them from Iowa, the midwest and later on in northern Canada. Thjen Sputnik came up and the work really accelerated.<br /><br />v3k <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[3488]

Dr Van Allen was also involved with Pioneer 10 & Pioneer 11 & funnily enough discovered<br />the Jovian Van Allen belts, so not only found Earth's with Explorer 1, but found<br />Jupiter's with Pioneer 10.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[PistolPete]

If you want a good example of what a space program would look like if it were ran by the military, then look no further than the Soviet Union. They had a few early successes, but started to loose momentum when various design bureaus started competing against one another for funding for their pet projects.<br /><br />In the end, I think a civilian space agency was the best idea for peaceful exploration of space. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><em>So, again we are defeated. This victory belongs to the farmers, not us.</em></p><p><strong>-Kambei Shimada from the movie Seven Samurai</strong></p> </div>

 

[venator_3000]

Yes. It is instructive to note that Vanguard was on a Navy rocket and Explorer on a ABMA. Combining the program made sense and saved money and eliminated replication of effort.<br /><br />I appreciate your point about the USSR. Although there may have been more social/political/cultural issues involved with the Soviet Union's space program as related to both its failures and successes.<br /><br />In the US it seems Congress will provide budget if there is a military need. If manned LEO operations had been under the military (you pick...one or all 5) then perhaps the infrastructure NASA is still trying to build on-orbit might already be there.<br /><br />But, that's just the ever-popular game of What-If. In terms of manned space exploration the taxpayers live with what little they get, I suppose.<br /><br />Explorer was a pretty neat achievement. I read recently ("The Technology Underground") that model rocketeers have talked about replicating the feat. At least in terms of getting a small relay into orbit. I think today was to be the target date, but I've heard nothing. The book was published in 2002.<br /><br />v3k <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[venator_3000]

Explorer 1 sites that might be of interest to the readers...<br /><br />JPL:<br />http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/explorer/<br /><br />Nat'l Air & Space Museum http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/GAL100/exp1.html<br /><br />California Science Center with great links at the bottom of the page...<br /><br />http://www.californiasciencecenter.org/Exhibits/AirAndSpace/MissionToThePlanets/Explorer1/Explorer1.php<br /><br />enjoy!<br />v3k <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>