Overview
NASA Celebrates America's First Satellite
On Jan. 31, 1958, the JPL-designed and -built Explorer 1 soared into space. The spacecraft, a quick response to the Soviet's Sputnik, lofted the United States into the Space Age.
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Features
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Explorer 1 Overview
Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States when it was sent into space on January 31, 1958.
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Public Invited to Celebrate Anniversary of Explorer 1
A half-century ago, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Explorer 1 spacecraft became America’s first Earth-orbiting satellite when it sailed into space on Jan. 31, 1958.
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First Contact: Sputnik
To say the least, it was incredible. The news relayed by the voice on the other end of the phone line hit the president of the San Gabriel Valley Radio Club like a blow to the head. Too incredible, Henry Richter hoped, to be true.
Related Multimedia
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50th Anniversary of Explorer 1
America entered the Space Age on January 31, 1958 with the launch of Explorer 1.
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Explorer 1 -- JPL and the Beginnings of the Space Age
JPL designed and built -- and, in cooperation with the Army, launched -- Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite and the first spacecraft ever to return scientific data from space.
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The Big Picture
This Army newsreel recounts the tense and exciting days leading up to the launch of Explorer 1, the satellite that kicked of U.S. space exploration.
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50th Anniversary of the Space Age
Everything changed on October 4, 1957, when the world heard the beeps of the Soviet Sputnik orbiting the Earth.
 "launch of Explorer 1")
 "Artist concept intro image from the video titled The Big Picture")
World Book at NASA
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Artificial Satellites
An artificial satellite is a manufactured object that continuously orbits a body in space and gathers information about the body it orbits.