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Explorer 1 was the first American earth-orbiting satellite, launched on January 31, 1958 -- approximately 3 months after the Russians launched Sputnik. It was a joint project of the California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency in Huntsville, Alabama.

In early December 1957, JPL engineers gathered around a mock-up of the satellite and its fourth stage booster. This was one of a series of photographs taken for Life magazine.

For information about Explorer 1, see excerpts from the February 1958 issue of Lab-Oratory, the JPL employee newspaper. It includes congratulatory messages and articles about the development of Explorer and related technology.

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