Science & Tech
On this date the U.S. Army’s Ballistic Missile Agency launched the United States’ first spacecraft, Explorer 1. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the State University of Iowa developed the satellite payload, which was launched on an Army Jupiter-C rocket. Explorer 1 made significant contributions to the exploration of space with the discovery of the Van Allen Radiation Belts. Dedicated soldiers and civilians answered the nation’s call and blazed the trail for future generations of space explorers.
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