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Explorer 1 Launch 
Launch of Jupiter-C/Explorer 1 at Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 31, 1958. After the Russian Sputnik was launched in October 1957, the launching of an American satellite assumed much greater importance. When the Vanguard rocket exploded on the pad in December 1957, the ability to orbit a satellite became a matter of national prestige. The ABMA (Army Ballistic Missile Agency) at Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama, in cooperation with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, launched a Jupiter rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket consisted of a modified version of the Redstone rocket's first stage and two upper stages of clustered Baby Sergeant rockets developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

 

MSFC Negative Number: 0100074

 

Image # : MSFC-75-SA-4105-2C

Date: January 31, 1958