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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Skyman, post: 2982133, member: 28299&quot;]Sixty years ago today, 1/31/58, the first US spacecraft to orbit the Earth was launched.&nbsp; It was called Explorer 1.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The US had to watch in stunned disbelief as the USSR kicked it&#039;s ass in space in 1957.&nbsp; The first spacecraft launched, Sputnik 1, launched on October 4, 1957.&nbsp; With a mass of 184 pounds, it was SIGNIFICANTLY larger than the size of the first spacecraft the US was planning to put into orbit.&nbsp; The first attempted US satellite was Vanguard 1 which weighed 3.2 pounds.&nbsp; For all that, unbeknownst to the US, Sputnik 1 was a crude satellite containing only a radio transmitter.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The USSR continued to run roughshod over the US in space with the launch of Sputnik 2 on 11/3/57, technically a much more advanced satellite than Sputnik 1.&nbsp; Sputnik 2 weighed about 1,100 pounds.&nbsp; Sputnik 2 contained the first living organism to fly into orbit, the dog Laika. There were no plans to land her. Laika died of heatstroke after 24 - 48 hours in orbit.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>To further twist the knife in the wound, vis-a-vis pathetic rockets, the US attempted to launch it&#039;s first satellite, Vanguard 1, on 12/6/57.&nbsp; The Vanguard rocket rose 4 feet and fell back to Earth where it exploded.&nbsp; US newspapers named it all sorts of things including Flopnik.</p><p><br /></p><p>Given the green light, the US Army Redstone rocket team under Werner von Braun, used a modified Redstone rocket called Juno, to launch Explorer 1 into orbit on 1/31/58.&nbsp; The relief in the US of finally being able to launch a satellite into orbit was immense.&nbsp; Even though Explorer 1 was small, roughly 31 pounds, it was designed with science in mind, and went on to discover the Van Allen radiation belts.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a period newsreel clip of the launch of Explorer 1.&nbsp; It is just over 3 minutes long.&nbsp; </p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]iW_3uXXoWIk[/MEDIA]</p><p><br /></p><p>Post a coin from 1958 or a space based coin/medallion in honor of Explorer 1.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]733901[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]733902[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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