Video
"Those were a rather hectic 84 days, I can assure you that," Wernher von Braun told an interviewer in "The Big Picture," an Army "television report" about the development and launch of Explorer 1. Below is a collection of historic films featuring comments from those at the center of the project and footage from events surrounding launch. In addition, there are new videos produced by NASA centers.
The Big Picture: Explorer 1
This 1958 “official television report of the United States Army” recounts the “exciting, suspenseful story” of the days leading up to the launch of Explorer 1, the first “scientific Earth satellite.” Footage includes development of the rocket at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency in Alabama, building the satellite at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida and, finally, the celebratory press conference in Washington, D.C.
JPL and the Beginnings of the Space Age
JPL and the Beginnings of the Space Age
Produced by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2007, this short film focuses on the “Space Race” and how the United States responded to the success of Sputnik 1. The film includes interviews with William Pickering, who was director of JPL when Explorer 1 was developed, and other notables. It also includes excerpts from the full-length documentary “Explorer 1: JPL and the Beginnings of the Space Age.
The Launch of Explorer 1
Posted by NASA History, this short film goes inside the blockhouse on Jan. 31, 1958 as Explorer 1 launched and reached orbit.
At the Frontier
The University of Iowa’s H. Clay Harshbarger interviews James Van Allen about satellite orbits, cosmic rays and Explorer 1 science in this March 1958 program. Video courtesy of the University of Iowa Archives.
How America's First Satellite Helped Create NASA
On Jan. 31 at 10:48 p.m. EST, Explorer 1 launched into space, hurtling into Earth's orbit in seven and a half minutes. The next day's front-page news declared that the United States was now officially in the Space Age.
ScienceCast: America’s Debut in Space
On January 31, 1958, the United States joined the "space race" with the successful launch of the Explorer 1 satellite, marking the birth of space science.
Explorer 1: Celebrating 60 years in Space
As NASA celebrates the 60th Anniversary of Explorer 1, the satellite that blazed the way for hundreds of missions to follow, some of the most ambitions explorations are yet to come.
Explorer 1: Celebrating 60 years in Space
As NASA celebrates the 60th Anniversary of Explorer 1, the satellite that blazed the way for hundreds of missions to follow, some of the most ambitions explorations are yet to come.
30 Years of Earth Observations: from Explorer-1 (1958) to CYGNSS (2017)
This representation by NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio shows the orbits of NASA-related near-Earth science missions from the launch of the first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958 through 2017. The missions include both NASA-run missions and those operated by NASA and partner organizations.
Video Collections
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Celebration of Explorer 1 and Earth's Radiation Belts
To mark the 60th anniversary of the launch of Explorer 1 and the discovery of Earth's Radiation Belts, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine hosted a daylong discussion in Washington, D.C. about Earth science and Heliophysics past, present and future. Speakers included NASA's Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen and Earth Science Division Director Michael Freilich. To watch video from the event, follow this link to the NASEM Vimeo collection.
To mark the 60th anniversary of the launch of Explorer 1 and the discovery of Earth's Radiation Belts, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine hosted a daylong discussion in Washington, D.C. about Earth science and Heliophysics past, present and future.NASA/JPL-Caltech
