On March 26, 1958, the United States launched its third satellite into space.
Explorer 3 was almost identical to Explorer 1, the first satellite the U.S. ever launched. Explorer 3 was the first successful launch in the series after Explorer 1.
Explorer 3 launched on a Juno I rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida and entered an eccentric orbit.
This means it was following a long elliptical path around the Earth.
Its payload included a cosmic ray counter and a micrometeorite detector a satellite with a long body, an engine at one end and tapered nose at the other.
The data from Explorer 3 and Explorer 1 led to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt.
This is a region around the Earth where charged particles from the sun get trapped by Earth’s magnetic field.
Explorer 3 spent 93 days orbiting the Earth before its orbit decayed.
Source: https://www.space.com/39251-on-this-day-in-space.html
