United States
On January 31, 1958, the United States launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, from Cape Canaveral, marking its entrance into the Space Age. The satellite discovered the Earth’s first known radiation belt (later named the Van Allen Belt). The launch followed the Soviet Union’s Sputnik, intensifying the U.S.–Soviet space race during the Cold War. Success of Explorer 1 demonstrated the capability of U.S. rocketry and scientific instrumentation in orbit. It laid foundation for NASA’s growth and the subsequent era of space exploration, including human missions to the moon.
