Explorer 1
/ɪkˌsplɔːrə ˈwʌn/
/ɪkˌsplɔːrər ˈwʌn/
- the first US artificial satellite in space. It was sent up on 31 January 1958 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, by the US Army. Explorer 1, which weighed 30 pounds/13.5 kilograms, discovered the Van Allen radiation belt. Several other Explorers were later sent up to study radiation and 'wind' from the sun.