1950: Development of the hydrogen fusion bomb (H-bomb) was publicly announced by U.S. President Truman. 1954: American electrical engineer Edwin Armstrong, a pioneer in radio communications and electronic theory and inventor of the CW transmitter, regenerative & superheterodyne circuits, and frequency modulation, died. 1958: The U.S. entered the space age by launching the first successful orbiting satellite, Explorer 1, almost four months after the launch of Sputnik by the USSR. 1958: James Van Allen's theory of the presence of what became known as the Van Allen Radiation Belt was confirmed by Explorer 1. 1961: Ham the chimpanzee became the first primate in space when launched aboard a Mercury-Redstone 2 rocket. 1971: Apollo 14 blasted off for the moon. 1983: British drivers were first required to "buckle-up." 2000: McDonald's opened its first restaurant in Moscow. 2005: SBC Communications on announced plans to acquire AT&T for $16 billion.