64 years ago, the US launched its first satellite into orbit around the earth. Explorer I was a small and slender tube with very primitive electronics. The rocket that launched it was a modified Redstone rocket that normally would have carried a nuclear warhead. It was what I call "a souped-up V-2" that was the brainchild of Dr. Werner von Braun. On top of that rocket was a cylinder full of small rocket motors that carried the satellite into orbit. This had been designed and developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
There are many ironies and "might
have beens" in history. This satellite was ready to go and could have been
launched in 1956, a full year before the Soviets launched Sputnik on October 4,
1957.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was president at that
time. He had graduated from West Point in 1915. He never commanded men in
battle. He spent a good part of his career as a staff officer. When World War
II started, he was a major. By the time World War II ended, he had risen in the
rank of 5-star general and Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe. One
would expect such a man to be a big fan of the military. In reality, he was
quite skeptical of anything military. He saw the Redstone rocket as sending a
signal to the world that the US was going to militarize space.
Eisenhower opted for the Vanguard rocket
to be the launch vehicle for the first US satellite. Never mind that it was
sponsored by the US Navy. It was a launch system built solely for space
exploration. It had no military use.
The problem is that the Vanguard rocket
had many launch failures. After Sputnik was launched, a wave of hysteria swept
the US. In desperation, Eisenhower agreed to let the US Army launch Explorer I.
It worked right the first time.
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