Explorers Program

Historical eventFebruary 161961

Explorers Program

Explorer program: Explorer 9 (S-56a) is launched.

Everything on February 16Original source

In context

When
Thursday, February 16 196165 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1960s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1958.

Type: NASA program.

What happened

History Early Explorer satellites Launch of Explorer 1 on the Juno I launch vehicle. Explorer 1, the first Earth satellite orbited by the United States The Explorers Program began as a U.S. Army proposal ( Project Orbiter ) to place a "civilian" artificial satellite into orbit during the International Geophysical Year (IGY). Although that proposal was rejected in favor of the U.S. Navy 's Project Vanguard , which made the first sub-orbital flight Vanguard TV0 in December 1956,

The Explorers Program is a NASA exploration program that provides flight opportunities for physics, geophysics, heliophysics, and astrophysics investigations from space. Launched in 1958, Explorer 1 was the first spacecraft of the United States to achieve orbit. Over 90 space missions have been launched since. Starting with Explorer 6, it has been operated by NASA, with regular collaboration with a variety of other institutions, including many international partners.

February 16 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1961Explorers Program
  2. 19961996 Maryland train collision
  3. 1996Amtrak
  4. 1998Taoyuan International Airport
  5. 1998China Airlines Flight 676
  6. 2000Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17
  7. 2005National Hockey League
  8. 2005Kyoto Protocol
  9. 2006Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
  10. 2013February 2013 Quetta bombing
  11. 2021Kherrata

Also in 1961

  • March 14United States Air ForceA USAF B-52 bomber carrying nuclear weapons crashes near Yuba City, California.
  • September 16National Hurricane Research ProjectThe U.S. National Hurricane Research Project sought to weaken Hurricane Esther by seeding it with silver iodide, leading to the establish…
  • September 16Typhoon Nancy (1961)Typhoon Nancy (pictured), which possibly had the strongest winds ever measured in a tropical cyclone, made landfall in Muroto, Japan.
  • September 17Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)The world's first retractable roof stadium, the Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • September 181961 Ndola Transair Sweden Douglas DC-6 crashAn aircraft crashed near Ndola in Northern Rhodesia, resulting in the deaths of 16 people, including United Nations secretary-general Dag…
  • October 20Soviet NavyThe Soviet Navy performs the first armed test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, launching an R-13 from a Golf-class submarine.
  • May 25Joint session of the United States CongressIn an address to Congress, U.S. president John F. Kennedy announced his support for the Apollo program, with "the goal, before this decad…
  • May 25Bukit Ho Swee fireA fire broke out at a squatter settlement in Bukit Ho Swee, Singapore, rendering approximately 16,000 people homeless.

Everything we record for 1961 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Explorers Program”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/explorers-program-1961-february-16, accessed October 24, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Explorers Program happen?

February 16 1961 — 65 years ago, on a Thursday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

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