Photos: Out of this world images from NASA
Credit: NASA
Pioneer I Launch - Thor-Able I with the Pioneer I spacecraft atop, prior to launch at Eastern Test Range at what is now Kennedy Space Center. Pioneer I launched 54 years ago on Oct. 11, 1958, the first spacecraft launched by the 11-day-old National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Although the spacecraft failed to reach the Moon, it did transmit 43 hours of data.
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