Lost to baby-boomers for years… but recently rediscovered. This was a rare and obscure classic early-morning cartoon series about a space rescue mission to Mars by a boy searching for his lost astronaut father with the help of the wise “Professor Nordheim” and a strange co-pilot named “Smitty the Navigator.” The rocket spaceship “Polaris” had a large clear front window where all the oncoming stars and asteroids and other planets could be seen. There was also a cool blinking light with a bleeping sound called the “Iridium Detector.”
It was first broadcast just after the Russians launched the telecommunications satellite “Sputnik.”
This was actually a popular cartoon that involved the “Space Race” era of todays baby-boomers. First to air in 1958, it is rated by some as one of the #1 factual early space cartoons, because the writers used consultants from the United Stated Air Force (USAF) and the Hayden Planetarium Planetarium to encourage young children to develop an interest in space research and travel.
Trivia collector’s will want to know that the very first television airing of The Space Explorers feature film was shown in 1958 by Claude Kirchner on WOR-TV, Channel 9, in New York.
Shown on these shows and stations in the 1950’s and early 1960’s:
►Ranger Hal (Hal Shaw of WTOP-TV Channel 9 in Washington, DC),
►Sheriff John (John Rovick of KTTV-TV Channel 11, Los Angeles, CA),
►”The Pancake Man” (Hal Smith, seen on KHJ-TV (Now KCAL) Ch. 9 In Hollywood, CA),
►Garfield Goose (Frazier Thomas of WGN-TV Channel 9 in Chicago),
►Captain Satellite (Bob March of KTVU-TV, Channel 2 in San Francisco, CA),
►Major Mudd (Ed T. McDonell of WNAC-TV Channel 7 in New England, Boston),
►”Afternoon Roundup” (Sally Starr of WFIL-TV Channel 6 in Philadelphia, PA),
►P.J.’s Club (Pete Jamerson of WMAL-TV Channel 7 in Washington, DC).
* Official website is http://TheSpaceExplorers.com
Radio & Television Packagers, Inc.
William Cayton - Producer
Fred Ladd - Director, Animation
5 responses so far ↓
1 smurfswacker // Aug 28, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I saw this series in the early 60s on KOMO-TV (Channel 4) Seattle, on a kid’s show with a host calling himself “Captain Puget.” It made such an impression I remembered huge chunks of the animation all my life.
2 CaptainKimba // Aug 31, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Everything from FL is excellent! I would like to see more of this show.
3 rocketguy2 // Sep 1, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Excellent! Is this available on DVD? Great animation and sound fx. If you get a chance, check outour retro sci-fi serial, “Thirty Second Doom”. Thanks!
4 carrystressinthejaw // Sep 3, 2008 at 9:20 pm
this is very entertaining
5 143AC // Sep 6, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Dear Inventor,
“Space Explorer’s”The The cartoons later
appeared on”The Space Explorer’s Club!”with
Al Hodge and “Space Station Nine!”With Chubby
Jackson on WOR TV Ch.9 in NYC during the early
1960’s.
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