Dan Beaumont Space Museum
Explorer 2 launch, Jupiter-C rocket, T+2sec., March 5, 1958
Ralph Morse photo for LIFE. AP INFO: Cape Canaveral, March 5. OFF AND ROARING, The Jupiter-C rocket, a second U.S. satellite in its spinning nose cone pours out flame from its first stage engine as it heads for outer space from its launch pad at the missile test center here today. WIKIPEDIA INFO: Explorer 2 (EXPLR2) was to be a repeat of the Explorer 1 mission. However, due to a failure in the rocket during launch, the spacecraft did not reach orbit.
Explorer 2 was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station LC-26A in Florida on March 5, 1958 at 18:28 UTC, by a Jupiter-C launch vehicle.[2] The Jupiter-C had its origins in the United States Army's Project Orbiter in 1954. The project was canceled in 1955, when the decision was made to proceed with Project Vanguard.
Following the launch of the Soviet Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) was directed to proceed with the launching of a satellite using the Jupiter-C, which had already been flight-tested in nose-cone re-entry tests for the Jupiter IRBM (intermediate-range ballistic missile). Working closely together, ABMA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) completed the job of modifying the Jupiter-C and building Explorer 1 in 84 days. REMASTERED by Dan Beaumont
Explorer 2 launch, Jupiter-C rocket, T+2sec., March 5, 1958
Ralph Morse photo for LIFE. AP INFO: Cape Canaveral, March 5. OFF AND ROARING, The Jupiter-C rocket, a second U.S. satellite in its spinning nose cone pours out flame from its first stage engine as it heads for outer space from its launch pad at the missile test center here today. WIKIPEDIA INFO: Explorer 2 (EXPLR2) was to be a repeat of the Explorer 1 mission. However, due to a failure in the rocket during launch, the spacecraft did not reach orbit.
Explorer 2 was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station LC-26A in Florida on March 5, 1958 at 18:28 UTC, by a Jupiter-C launch vehicle.[2] The Jupiter-C had its origins in the United States Army's Project Orbiter in 1954. The project was canceled in 1955, when the decision was made to proceed with Project Vanguard.
Following the launch of the Soviet Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) was directed to proceed with the launching of a satellite using the Jupiter-C, which had already been flight-tested in nose-cone re-entry tests for the Jupiter IRBM (intermediate-range ballistic missile). Working closely together, ABMA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) completed the job of modifying the Jupiter-C and building Explorer 1 in 84 days. REMASTERED by Dan Beaumont