Wernher von Braun  was a German born rocket scientist, engineer, space architect,
and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Germany  
and the United States during and after World War ll. A former member of the Nazi  
Party and a commissioned SS officer, von Braun would later be regarded as the 
preeminent rocket engineer of the 20th century in his role with the U.S. civilian
space agency NASA. In 1955, ten years after entering this country, Von Braun
became a naturalized citizen. He lead the development of the Saturn V booster
rocket that helped land the first men on the Moon in 1969. Von Braun received the
National Medal of Science in 1975. He died on June 16, 1977 of pancreatic cancer 
at the age of 65. 

Pictured above is an animation of the Explorer orbiting Earth and a scale model of the
satellite being held up by (left to right) William Pickering, James Von Allen, and Wernher 
Von Braun. 

Explorer 1  was the first Earth satellite of the United States, launched as part of its participation in an international scientific project. The mission followed the first two
Earth satellites the previous year, the Soviet Union’s Sputnic l and 2, beginning the
Cold War Space Race between the two nations.

Explorer 1 was launched  atop the first Juno booster from at the Cape Canaveral, Florida. It returned data until its batteries were exhausted after nearly four months. It remained in orbit until 1970.

Stage, film, and TV actress Barbara Rush made her screen debut
in the 1951 movie The Goldbergs. She won the Golden Globe
Award for Most Promising Newcomer-Female for her role in 
1953 science fiction classic IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE.