Launching of Explorer

From the creator

This 1958 film covers the January 31, 1958 launching of Explorer, the first satellite launched by the United States. The project was a collaboration that included the Army Ballistic Missile Agency in Huntsville, Alabama, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Dr. James van Allen of the University of Iowa. This film focuses on the development, preparation and launching of the Army’s Jupiter-C launch vehicle. Explorer was the US contribution to the International Geophysical Year 1957-1958. Explorer revolved around Earth in a looping orbit that took it as close as 354 kilometers (220 miles) to Earth and as far as 2,515 kilometers (1,563 miles). It made one orbit every 114.8 minutes, or a total of 12.54 orbits per day. The satellite itself was 203 centimeters (80 inches) long and 15.9 centimeters (6.25 inches) in diameter. Explorer 1 made its final transmission on May 23, 1958. It entered Earth's atmosphere and burned up on March 31, 1970, after more than 58,000 orbits.

Published 2017-12-15 · Watch on YouTube ↗
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