America's first satellite, the Explorer I. It is seen on the launch pad atop the Redstone Juno I rocket that will carry it into orbit on January 31, 1958. The rocket engine fires and the Juno I speeds upward. Next an American Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile is seen being launched 0n 18 December 1958, to steer itself into orbit as a satellite, orbiting the Earth.
A huge gathering present for the 1958 Orange Bowl parade associated with the January 1, 1958 Orange Bowl game between the University of Oklahoma "Sooners" and the Duke University "Blue Devils" college football teams. Dancers and band of the Oklahoma Sooners perform at the parade. Girls dancing, instrumentalists pass by, a clown on a canoe with wheels and another clown on snow skis with wheels. Police motorcyclists perform a drill. Girls in dresses (Orange Bowl queen and court) ride by on a parade float.
Aerial view of the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine, underway on the surface and then submerging. View of helmsman below in the Nautilus. Aerial view of frozen arctic ocean with deep crevasses, as narrator mentions the Nautilus traveling submerged, beneath the North Pole on August 3, 1958. The boat's Captain, Commander William R. Anderson, is seen in uniform. More views of the Nautilus moving on the surface, including one with crew members standing on deck. Next, a newspaper headline is shown, announcing Alaska's statehood. Small boy and girl sitting in the grass holding a flag displaying map of Alaska and reading: "Alaska 49th State." Automobile traffic driving into Anchorage, Alaska. Banner stretched across the road reads: "Anchorage. All-America City." Pedestrians jam the sidewalks as the city celebrates its new statehood. A float displaying a huge moose has sign on its side reading: "49th. Hey Texas. Now I'm the biggest Bull..." Young Alaskans ride in a convertible automobile. A huge 48-star American flag covers the front of a building. It has a large extra star appended to it. Closeup of the flag.
Review of the 1958 baseball season. Clip opens with Ebbets Field in Brooklyn and Polo Grounds in New York sitting empty after the Dodgers and Giants left for the West Coast. The teams are welcomed by parades and thousands of cheering fans in Los Angeles and San Francisco respectively. The season ends with the Milwaukee Braves and New York Yankees in the World Series for the second straight year. In game 7 at County Stadium in Milwaukee, Bill Skowron hits a home run to give the Yankees a 6-2 lead. Mickey Mantle catches the final out in center field as the Yankees clinch the game and series and celebrate as they run to the dugout.
Static test number 1040 on December 23, 1958, of XLR-11 engine for X-15,at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The engine is in a test stand.
Preparations for the 1960 Presidential elections in the United States. Clair Engle and Governor of California Pat Brown on a podium during a Democratic Party celebration after democrats swept the 1958 election. Republican Senator William Knowland, who lost the election, is seen in a polling place signing a document. California Governor Goodwin Knight, who also lost, is seen. Democratic Senator John F. Kennedy with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy and his brother Robert Kennedy in a large crowd. In New York people celebrate the victory of Republican Nelson Rockefeller over Governor Averill Harriman. Several views of Nelson Rockefeller.