During a ceremony at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 26 a historical marker is unveiled noting the launch of America's first satellite, Explorer 1. From the left, Ray Sands, chairman of the Air Force Space and Missile Foundation -- sponsor of the marker, Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, 45th Space Wing commander and director of the Eastern Range and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana. The Explorer 1 satellite was launched atop a Jupiter C rocket on Jan. 31, 1958. During operation, the satellite's cosmic ray detector discovered radiation belts around Earth which were named for Dr. James Van Allen, principal investigator for the satellite.
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NASA ID
KSC-20180131-PH_KLS01_0114
Date Created
January 31, 2018
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Photographer
NASA/Kim Shiflett
Location
Launch Complex 26; Air Space and
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