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
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...
Cosmic Voyage
Released on: 1996-08-09
Documentary
The Academy Award® nominee Cosmic Voyage combines live action with state-of-the-art computer-generat...
Kingdom of Saturn: Cassini's Epic Quest
Released on: 2017-01-01
Documentary
Before the joint NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens mission, humanity only knew what had been learned, decades...
Blue Planet
Released on: 1990-01-01
Documentary
From the unique vantage point of 200 miles above Earth's surface, we see how natural forces - volcan...
In the Shadow of the Moon
Released on: 2007-01-19
Documentary, History
Archival material from the original NASA film footage – much of it seen for the first time – plus in...
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...
Destiny in Space
Released on: 1994-01-17
Documentary
Travel alongside the astronauts as they deploy and repair the Hubble Space Telescope, soar above Ven...
Mission to Mir
Released on: 1997-10-17
Documentary
This film shows how far we have come since the cold-war days of the 50s and 60s. Back then the Russi...
Space: The Longest Goodbye
Released on: 2024-03-08
Documentary
Social isolation affects millions of people, even Mars-bound astronauts. A savvy NASA psychologist i...
Moonscape
Released on: 2013-12-29
Documentary
Moonscape is a free and freely downloadable high-definition documentary about the first manned Moon ...
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...
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....
James May on the Moon
Released on: 2009-06-21
Documentary
Top Gear presenter James May presents this informative program that examines the historic moon missi...
How William Shatner Changed The World
Released on: 2005-11-13
Documentary
William Shatner presents a light-hearted look at how the "Star Trek" TV series have influenced and i...
Aliens on the Moon: The Truth Exposed
Released on: 2014-07-20
Documentary
Never-before-aired NASA footage presents evidence that the Moon is being used as a base.
Storycorps: Eyes on the Stars
Released on: 2012-08-09
Animation, Documentary
On January 28, 1986, NASA Challenger mission STS-51-L ended in tragedy when the shuttle exploded 73 ...
The Dream Is Alive
Released on: 1985-06-01
Documentary
The Dream Is Alive takes you into space alongside the astronauts on the space shuttle. Share with th...
A Remembering of Disremembering
Released on: 2020-08-07
Documentary
Told through the tales of love of a retiring film projectionist and a late-blooming actress, the sho...