Sputnik Satellite Links

Picture of the Day: Celebrating the First American Satellite Launch

On this day in 1958, the United States launched its first satellite -- Explorer 1 -- into orbit. During the preceding year, the Soviet Union had launched Sputnik 1 and 2, and the Space Race had begun. ...

Satellite Plummets After Possible Attack

How did a falling Russian spacecraft lead to vague allegations against the United States?

Newsreel Footage of Explorer 1

Here’s a blast from the past: 54 years ago on January 31, 1958, Explorer 1 was the first satellite sent into space by the United States. The U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency was directed to launch a satellite following the Soviet Union’s successful Sputnik 1 launch on October 4, 1957. The 13-kg (30-pound) Explorerer satellite [...]