Explorer 1 Satellite

Explorer 1 was America’s first satellite, launched 60 years ago on January 31, 1958 aboard a Jupiter C rocket from Cape Canaveral. It remained in orbit for more than 12 years and discovered the Van Allen radiation belt of charged particles, now considered one of the outstanding discoveries of the International Geophysical Year. Explorer was America’s answer to the Russian Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite.