It was launched into orbit on the Explorer 7 satellite in 1959.
The Explorer 1 satellite launched in 1958 measured cosmic rays.
Wilson was best known for his role as "father" of the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite.
It successfully placed the Explorer 38 satellite into medium Earth orbit.
They also predicted characteristics of the magnetosphere that were confirmed 30 years later by the Explorer 12 satellite.
The Bold Orion was tested in 19 October 1959 against the Explorer 6 satellite.
The first gamma-ray telescope carried into orbit, on the Explorer 11 satellite in 1961, picked up fewer than 100 cosmic gamma-ray photons.
Bold Orion successfully intercepted the Explorer 6 satellite, passing its target at a range of less than 3.5 nm and an altitude of 136 nm.
On January 31, 1958, the US Army launched the Explorer 1 satellite.
Detonations occurred at altitudes between 160 and 750 km, and effects were monitored by the Explorer IV satellite and other instrumented rockets.