Prof. Van Allen was still teaching undergrad physics when I attended U. of Iowa. I still remember being amazed by him and his “Hawkeye” satellite built in Iowa City.
My dad, Roger Easton, helped write the 1955 proposal for the Naval Research Lab the nod to launch the first satellite. He tinkered with the Vanguard 1 on our dining room table. I’m wearing the red coat in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msLSW1U1t1U (it’s the Vanguard 1 satellite a week or two before its launch).
See my website www.gpsdeclassified.com
Richard Easton