Ariel 1 , the first satellite from a nation besides the United States or the Soviet Union , was launched aboard an American Thor-Delta rocket from Launch Complex 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station , at 18:00:16 GMT on 26 April 1962 . Ariel 1 was among several satellites inadvertently damaged or destroyed by the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test on July 9 , 1962 , and subsequent radiation belt . It decayed from orbit on 24 April 1976
Starfish Prime
Starfish Prime
Ariel 1