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A sign next to the launch console and under the staging chart. It reads

The cylindrical payload of the Explorer 1 launch vehicle, seen in this photo, consists of three nested stages made of clustered Sergeant solid-propellant motors (below).

Explorer 1

A modern rocket launch is a marvel of integrated computer systems managing every aspect of the mission, from launch sequence and stage separation to vehicle system and life support management. Humans in the control room monitor this automated data and provide "go or no-go" decisions.

But in 1958, the launch and orbital insertion of Explorer 1 required far more direct human input. Not only was the Jupiter-C rocket [heroicrelics: many sources refer to the four-stage satellite launcher version of the rocket as the "Juno I", to differentiate it from the three-stage Jupiter-C, used to test reentry nose cones for the Jupiter missile; other than the addition of an extra stage and the payload, the launch vehicles were essentially identical] launched by a manual command on the console at left, but activating the second and third stages were also initiated from a similar console.

Charts like the one above provided console operators with the information needed to manually control the separation of the first and second stages of the Jupiter-C launch vehicle. The hand drawn chart was calculated using slide rules, mechanical calculators, and brain power. A young physicist by the name of Dr. Joyce K Neighbors was part of the team that created this critical piece. At the time of the Explorer 1 mission, Dr. Neighbors was working in the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) and was one of the very few women working in a predominantly male, technical field. Many key players of the Explorer 1 mission, such as Dr. Wernher von Braun and Dr. Ernst Stuhlinger, signed this copy of the historic document. Dr. Neighbor's signature can be seen at the top of the document as "A.K. Neighbors." She alone was asked to sign the document using only her initials and surname.