Four Color #954

Right at the height of the Space Age, this 1959 Dell one-shot captures the era's breathless excitement about orbital flight, promising readers the real story behind Explorer, Vanguard, and Sputnik. The cover delivers a stunning bird's-eye view of Earth with multiple satellites and rockets suspended against the star-filled black of space — a large multi-stage rocket dominates the scene, while a boxy satellite with extended antennae and a smaller capsule-shaped craft float nearby. Written by Don R. Christensen, "Launching the Earth Satellite" offers an approachable, Disney-backed look at the machines humanity had just flung beyond the atmosphere.