The true story behind the launch of Explorer 1
Los Angeles Times: On the night of Jan. 31, 1958 -- less than 90 days after JPL was given the go-ahead -- Explorer 1 lifted off the pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The story of JPL's 90-day miracle became the stuff of scientific legend. "It's an attractive story," JPL historian Erik Conway told Los Angeles Times reporter John Johnson Jr. "The problem is, it's not true."
