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A Pioneer 1 launch cover postmarked at Port Canaveral on October 11, 1958.
The date is significant because October 11, 1958 was the day NASA launched its first spacecraft — only ten days after NASA officially began operations on October 1.
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Pioneer 1 was launched on October 11, 1958, but it was unable to reach a lunar trajectory due to improper separation of the second and third stages. Nonetheless, it successfully collected data on the Van Allen Belt and micrometeorite impacts before reentering Earth's atmosphere on October 12, 1958. The first vehicle, Pioneer 0, was launched by the USAF but was destroyed 77 seconds after liftoff due to an explosion in the rocket's first stage. Following this attempt, Pioneer 1 and Pioneer 2 were transferred to the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
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| Photo: A view of the moon captured using an Igor tracking telescope on August 12, 1958. |
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| Photo: Launch of Pioneer 1 on October 11, 1958. |
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| A Pioneer 1 launch cover from "Sarzin", postmarked at Port Canaveral with a hand cancel on October 11, 1958. |
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| A Pioneer 1 launch cover postmarked at Patrick Air Force Base with a machine cancel on October 11, 1958.
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(Reference from
Pioneer 1)
