1958–1959 Nabisco : Defenders of America Action Pictures

"The X-15 Rocket Powered Research Plane"

Defenders of America Action Pictures were distributed from 1958–1959 by the National Biscuit Company, commonly known as Nabisco. The collection was released in two 24-card series. One card was included with each box of Nabisco Shredded Wheat. Each postcard-sized image measures approximately 3.875 x 5.875 inches.

Both series feature illustrations and photographs of U.S. military aircraft, warships, and weapons of the Cold War. The second series includes an artitst rendering of the North American X-15-1 (56-6670), the Explorer 1 satellite, and the Juno II space launch vehicle.

"U.S. Army Explorer I in Orbit"

Explorer 1 was the first satellite placed into orbit by the United States, four months after Sputnik 1. The photograph depicts the Juno I (RS-29) launch vehicle on February 1, 1958. Juno I was built by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency under the direction of Wernher von Braun. The Juno I design combined elements of the Jupiter-C, MGM-29 Sergeant, and the PGM-11 Redstone missiles.

Explorer 1 was officially known as Satellite 1958 Alpha. The satellite was designed and built by Jet Propulsion Laboratory under the direction of Dr. William H. Pickering. Scientific instrumentation was designed and built by Dr. James Van Allen. The equipment detected a high amount of charged particles in Earth orbit. Dr. Van Allen theorized that the energy was radiation trapped in magnetic belts. Today, the phenomena is known as the Van Allen belts.

"U.S. Army Juno II Rocket"

The four-stage Juno II (AM-11) launched the Pioneer 3 lunar probe on December 6, 1958. The first stage cut off early, failing to reach the required velocity for a Moon approach. The 13 pound (5.87 kg) spacecraft travelled to an apogee of 63,600 miles (102,360 km). Pioneer 3 was able to return data from the outer Van Allen radiation belt before returning to Earth. The probe reentered the atmosphere over Chad on December 7, 1958.