Explorer 1: The Beginning of the Space Age (2007)
• December 1st, 2007 • 0h 53min
Documentary
Overview
"Explorer 1" is the second episode of "Beginnings Of The Space Age". The 60-minute documentary reveals how JPL and the U.S. Army could have been the first to place a satellite into Earth orbit, had they only been given the chance. That opportunity was lost when the Eisenhower administration, unsure of what the Soviet reaction would be to a satellite launched (in part) by the U.S. Army military, hesitated and assigned the project to a civilian-led program called Vanguard. The Soviet Union launched Sputnik in October 1957, shocking the world and creating the "Race for Space" in the midst of the Cold War. Only after the Vanguard rocket exploded on the launch pad were JPL and the U.S. Army given its chance. The result was Explorer 1, the first successful U.S. satellite, which also achieved the first space science results.
Make sure to check your pop-up blocker!!
Trailer
Similar Movies
The Voyagers
Released on: 2010-09-25
Documentary
In the summer of 1977, NASA sent Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 on an epic journey into interstellar space....
Sally
Released on: 2025-01-28
Documentary
Sally Ride's groundbreaking journey as the first American woman in space concealed a deeply personal...
L'Aventure Rosetta : Aux origines de la vie
Released on: 2015-05-30
Documentary, TV Movie
It was November 12, 2014, at 5:03pm. Humanity had just accomplished a feat that will forever mark it...
Edge of Darkness
Released on: 2015-11-01
Documentary
The film features amazing scenes of places never before seen gathered by key space missions that cul...
Comet Collision
Released on: 2006-05-24
Documentary
Comets pose one of the greatest threats to life on Earth - a threat that can only be countered if we...
Shadow Chasers
Released on: 2000-09-23
Documentary
This feature-length documentary is a portrait of eclipse chasers, people for whom solar eclipses - a...
An Article of Hope
Released on: 2011-05-01
Documentary
An inspiring documentary film that details the life mission of Col. Ilan Ramon, the first and only A...
Apollo 13: Survival
Released on: 2024-03-08
Documentary, History
Using original footage and interviews, this documentary tells the nail-biting story of Apollo 13 and...
Moonscape
Released on: 2013-12-29
Documentary
Moonscape is a free and freely downloadable high-definition documentary about the first manned Moon ...
The Hunt for Dark Matter
Released on: 2017-05-04
Documentary
CERN and the University of California-Santa Barbara are collaborating in the search for the elusive ...
The Last Man on the Moon
Released on: 2016-02-26
Documentary, History
The 1960s was an extraordinary time for the United States. Unburdened by post-war reparations, Ameri...
Saving Skylab: America's First Space Station
Released on: 2020-04-18
Documentary, History
How an electric lineman's tool manufacturer in Centralia, Missouri, helped save the first American s...
Ultimate Mars Challenge
Released on: 2012-11-14
Documentary
With access to the scientists and engineers responsible for the Curiosity rover's on-the-ground expe...
Project Gemini: Bridge to the Moon
Released on: 2003-02-25
Documentary
All of the necessary technologies required to reach the Moon was first tested during Project Gemini,...
Failure Is Not an Option
Released on: 2003-08-24
Documentary, History
The Space Race comes alive through the eyes of the ultimate insider - retired NASA Mission Control F...
Exoplanets
Released on: 2017-01-01
Documentary
NASA may have just gotten one step closer to the answering the question: are we alone? The Spitzer T...
Mars: One Day on the Red Planet
Released on: 2020-01-05
Documentary
An epic journey around Mars — built from real satellite and rover data — revealing the red planet as...
The First Scientific Science-Fiction Film
Released on: 1993-01-01
Documentary
A short documentary about Fritz Lang's film 'Frau im Mond', and its relation to the science and hist...
Live from Space
Released on: 2014-03-14
Documentary, TV Movie
National Geographic and NASA are sending you into space - live! For the first time ever, board the I...