Sage-Tips

What was the purpose of the Explorer 1 satellite?

Explorer 1 was the first U.S. satellite and the first satellite to carry science instruments. The satellite was launched on Jan. 31, 1958, from Cape Canaveral, Fla.. Explorer 1 followed a looping flight path that orbited Earth once every 114 minutes.

What were the 2 satellite projects that the US presented?

Two satellite projects in the United States were likewise developed in the context of the IGY. The resulting Vanguard and Orbiter (later Explorer) projects emerged as rivals, not just to the Sputnik program but also occasionally to each other.

What did the first satellite look like?

The Sputnik 1 satellite was a 58.0 cm-diameter aluminum sphere that carried four whip-like antennas that were 2.4-2.9 m long. The antennas looked like long “whiskers” pointing to one side.

What did the Explorer satellite discover?

Explorer 1’s main instrument was a cosmic ray detector designed by James Van Allen of the State University of Iowa. The experiment discovered evidence of radiation belts around Earth, now called Van Allen Belts, that marked the first scientific discovery in space.

Who built Explorer 1?

Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Explorer 1/Manufacturers

Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite, was a joint project of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) in Huntsville, Alabama, which built the Jupiter-C rocket; the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, which built the satellite; and the University of Iowa, where the science instruments were designed.

How much did the Explorer 1 cost?

It was sent out into space to orbit earth. What is/was the Mission budget? Explorer missions are large craft that are, by definition, not to exceed a cost of $200 million for development, launch services, and mission operations and data analysis, exclusive of the launch vehicle. When did/will the Mission occur?

What did Explorer 1 discover?

Who made satellites?

October, 1957: Soviets launch first artificial satellite into Earth orbit. Fifty years ago, on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, shocking the American public and beginning the Space Age.

Is Sputnik still alive?

Sputnik remained in orbit until Jan. 4, 1958, when it re-entered and burned up in Earth’s atmosphere. Unfortunately, there was no plan in place to get the dog safely back to Earth, and it died in space.

How many stages did Explorer 1 have?

Launched late on 31 January 1958 (10:48 p.m. EST, or 03:48 UTC on 01 February) on an Juno-1 rocket (adapted Jupiter-C), Explorer 1 carried instrumentation for the study of cosmic rays, micrometeorites, and for monitoring of the satellite’s temperature. The Juno-1 launch vehicle consisted of four propulsive stages.

What is the size of the Vanguard 1 satellite?

Just 152 mm (6.0 in) in diameter and weighing just 1.4 kg (3.1 lb), Vanguard 1 was described by then-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev as, “The grapefruit satellite.”.

What are some examples of space satellites that have been explored?

These included Vanguard 1-3, Pioneer 5, Ariel 1-2, Alouette 1, and a San Marco series of spacecraft launched from the site of that name off the coast of Kenya, Africa. All of these smaller, simpler satellites carried out missions analogous to those of the “Explorers,” but they bore different names and were not counted in the explorer series.

What did the Sputnik 1 satellite look like?

The Sputnik 1 satellite was a 58.0 cm-diameter aluminum sphere that carried four whip-like antennas that were 2.4-2.9 m long. The antennas looked like long “whiskers” pointing to one side.

Why do we count Explorers 2 and 5 in space launch sequence?

As a consequence, Explorers 2 and 5 got counted in the sequence even though they failed to achieve orbit. Following the creation of NASA on October 1, 1958, the agency established the practice of no longer counting such launches, but the problem of definition remained a real one.