Sputnik – 50th Anniversary
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At the end of World War II the USSR and the USA were both in the midst of the cold war, each trying to best the other’s missile programs.
One of the by-products of the missile programs was naturally more powerful rockets, after all, each needed a way to deliver its own little piece of hell to the other. Both countries had brilliant people working for them, and in the case of the USSR one of them was Sergei Korolyov. It was Korolyov who was to become the father of the Soviet space program who thought, well if the R-7 rocket is able to lift a 5-ton warhead, why not a satellite. When a problem cropped up with the warhead project, Korolyov took advantage of the opportunity. He and his design team set to work. Sputnik was born.
Sputnik was built in less than three months. The spacecraft was made of aluminum alloy and weighed just 83 kg (184 lbs). The pressurized sphere was fitted with two radio transmitters and four antennas. According to Boris Chertok (another of the Soviet space fathers), Korolyov explained the reason to go with a sphere and not a cone shape for Sputnik as : The Earth is a sphere, and its first satellite also must have a spherical shape” – quite a traditionalist. Sputnik had a highly polished surface to deflect the rays and heat of the Sun with the idea to prolong its life. The launch was scheduled for October 6, 1957.
Korolyov suspected the US were going to launch a satellite on October 5th, so the launch of Sputnik was moved up to October 4th and it was successfully launched at 19:29 GMT. Many people claimed to have seen Sputnik overhead, truth is they didn’t really see the spacecraft, it was too small. What they did see was the burnt out second stage of the rocket booster. The radio transmitters worked nicely and to the delight of some, and shock of others Sputnik could be heard for about 20 days. Here is some audio from Sputnik.
Sputnik ended its radio transmissions when its batteries gave out on October 25th. The little spacecraft that changed the world was destroyed when it re-entered the atmosphere on January 4, 1958.
Sources: Zarya.info / Newsday / NASA
I remember it well. I’m OLD.
I was only 4 yrs. old but I also remember all the excitement.
I REMEMBER THE SPUTNIK CANDY THAT WAS IN EVERY FIVE AND DIME
Sputnik started the race to space in which United Sates won. However, let’s not forget that sputnik was the first artificial satellite to be put in space.
Watch Sputnik’s historical launch video
http://www.snupped.com/sputnik
Arthur C. Clarke was the first to predict that we would launch artificial satellites and now he says this:
“Before the current decade is out, fee-paying passengers will be experiencing sub-orbital flights aboard privately funded passenger vehicles, built by a new generation of engineer-entrepreneurs with an unstoppable passion for space.”
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/oct07/5584
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