Date in year · 1958 · The 1950s

January 31, 1958

On January 31, 1958, cold War: Space Race: The Explorer 1, the first successful American satellite, detects the Van Allen radiation belt. Jean-Marc Pilorget, Gabi Delgado-López, Malcolm Marshall would arrive in the same year.

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Year

1958

1950s

Around 1958

The year in brief

1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1958th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 958th year of the 2nd millennium, the 58th year of the 20th century, and the 9th year of the 1950s decade.

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What happened

On January 31, 1958

  1. 1958 Cold War: Space Race: The Explorer 1, the first successful American satellite, detects the Van Allen radiation belt.

    US–USSR spaceflight capability rivalry

    The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between the Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the two nations following World War II and the onset of the Cold War. The technological advantage demonstrated by spaceflight achievement was seen as necessary for national security, particularly in regard to intercontinental ballistic missile and satellite reconnaissance capability, but also became part of the cultural symbolism and ideology of the time.

Farewells

Died on January 31, 1958

Karl Selter Estonian politician (1898–1958)

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1958

The class of 1958

Others born in 1958

Jean-Marc Pilorget 1958– French footballer and manager
Gabi Delgado-López 1958– Spanish-German singer, co-founder of D.A.F. (died 2020)
Malcolm Marshall 1958– Barbadian cricketer and coach (died 1999)
Viacheslav Fetisov 1958– Russian ice hockey player and coach
Andie MacDowell 1958– American model, actress, and producer
Yoshito Usui 1958– Japanese illustrator (died 2009)

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