42 Years of Measuring the Sun, the Earth and the Energy in Between
NASA
February 18, 2026
By Denise Lineberry On Jan. 31, 1958, Explorer 1 became the first satellite launched by the United States. Its primary science instrument, a cosmic ray detector, was designed to measure the radiation environment in Earth orbit. Though its final transmission was in May 1958, it continued to revolve around Earth more than 58,000 times. As […]
Verticals
spacescience
Originally published on NASA on 2/18/2026