1. EXPLORER 1 Steven Bressan and Garrett Talkington March 1 st, 2016

2. TOPICS COVERED  What was it?  Why was it special?  Where did it go?  Did it discover anything useful?  To what future opportunities did it lead?

3. WHAT WAS THE EXPLORER 1  The Explorer 1 was a small scientific satellite launched into Earth orbit by a Juno 1 rocket, a modified ballistic missile.  It contained equipment for measuring cosmic rays around the Earth.  It was the United States’ response to the Russian’s launches of Sputnik I and Sputnik II.  It was launched January 31 st, 1958.

4. WHAT MADE IT SPECIAL?  It was the first U.S. satellite to be launched into space successfully.  It established the U.S. presence in space, and gave us means to combat the USSR’s newfound power vie spy satellites.  It didn’t have a proper rocket booster, but instead used and older model of ballistic missile to get into orbit.  Later satellites would continue to use these ballistic missiles.

5. SCHEMATICS OF THE EXPLORER 1

6. WHERE DID IT GO?  It was the first of many satellites launched into Earth orbit to give us the wealth of knowledge we have today.  It orbited earth in an elliptical path and after four months finally ran out of batteries.  It’s orbit eventually decayed until it fell back to the Earth in 1970, 12 years after its launch.

7. WHAT DID IT DISCOVER?  It’s cosmic radiation detecting instruments discovered what is now known today as the Van Allen Radiation Belt around the Earth.  This is a layer of charged particles that surround the Earth and are held in place by its magnetic field  If satellites are launched into the belt area they must contain extra shielding to protect against this radiation.

8. WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DID IT LEAD TO?  The Explorer 1 was the first of thousands of satellites to launch from the American space program.  The Explorer line alone has more than 90 satellites and has discovered useful information.

9. WORKS CITED  "Explorer 1 Overview." NASA, 30 July 2015. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.  "Explorer Information." Explorer Information. NASA, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.  "Explorer 1." Mission to Earth. NASA, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.  Pearlman, Robert Z. "50 Years Later: First U.S. Satellite's Souvenirs Still Circle the Earth." Space.com. N.p., 31 Jan. 2008. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.