INTRODUCTION

SPUTNIKSPUTNIK5050thth Anniversary Anniversary

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

October 4th marks the 50th anniversary of Sputnik 1’s launch into space. The satellite was the first man-made object to orbit Earth. It sent back a beeping sound to Earth for 23 days and signaled the beginning of the Space Age.

Sputnik 1


The Vergeltungswaffe 2 (V-2), was the first ballistic missile. Built by the Germans, the V-2 was the first object launched into space. Test flights reached an altitude of 189 km (117 miles) in 1944. It was the progenitor of the space race.

-Peenemünde Museum replica of the first successful V-2 rocket.

POST WAR BALLISTIC MISSLEPOST WAR BALLISTIC MISSLE


At the end of WW II, the United States and the USSR raced to retrieve as many V-2 rockets and staff as possible. Three hundred trainloads of V-2s and parts were captured and shipped to the US, and 126 of the principal designers of the V2 were in American hands.

COLD WAR ROCKET RACECOLD WAR ROCKET RACE


COLD WARCOLD WAR

After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union became locked in a bitter Cold War of espionage and propaganda. Space exploration and satellite technology fed into the Cold War on both fronts. Satellite-borne equipment could spy on other countries, while space-faring accomplishments could serve as propaganda to tout a country's scientific prowess and military potential.

First U.S. photo spy satellite: Corona – photo of the Pentagon…1967


THE INTERNATIONAL GEOPHYSICAL YEARTHE INTERNATIONAL GEOPHYSICAL YEAR

The International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) proposed the International Geophysical Year, a period of time (7/1957 – 12/1958) with high sunspot activity, where there would be an international effort to investigate several Earth phenomena. In 1954, ICSU requested artificial satellites to be deployed during the IGY to study the Earth’s surface.


THE BIRTH OF THE SPACE RACETHE BIRTH OF THE SPACE RACE

As soon as the IGY requested the use of artificial satellites, both the USA and the USSR began programs and raced to be the first to deploy them. In 1955, the US announced their plans to launch Vanguard for the IGY.

Vanguard TV3 Satellite


SPUTNIK I – FIRST IN SPACESPUTNIK I – FIRST IN SPACE

On October 4th, 1957, Russia shocked the world with their unannounced launch of Sputnik I.

The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a basketball, weighed only 183 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path.

Sputnik 1


The Sputnik launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments.

While the launch was a single event, it marked the start of the U.S. – U.S.S.R Space Race.


SPUTNIK I SURPRISESPUTNIK I SURPRISE

The Russian’s Sputnik launch changed everything. As a technical achievement, Sputnik caught the world's attention and the American public off-guard. Its size was more impressive than the American Vanguard's intended 3.5-pound payload.

Vanguard


SPUTNIK I PUBLIC FEARSPUTNIK I PUBLIC FEAR

The American public feared

that the Soviets' ability to launch satellites also translated into the capability to launch ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear weapons from Europe to the U.S.

All Sputniks were carried to orbit by the R-7 launch vehicle which was believed to have been originally designed to carry nuclear warheads…


NASA IS BORNNASA IS BORN

The Sputnik launch also led directly to the U.S. Congress passing the Space Act which created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on

October 1st, 1958.


SPUTNIK IISPUTNIK II

Then the Soviets struck again; on November 3rd 1957, Sputnik II was launched, carrying a much heavier payload, including a dog named Laika.

-Laike, a former Moscow shelter dog (Samoyed mix), shown in her flight harness, was the first animal in space…

Sputnik II


VANGUARDVANGUARD

The Eisenhower Administration decided to have a non-military organization develop the first American satellite to launch into orbit and it was to be dedicated to scientific purposes. Vanguard TV3 was this mission and it failed via a spectacular televised launch on December 6, 1957. American dismay deepened over the country's position in the Space Race.


EXPLORER 1EXPLORER 1

Explorer 1 became America's first satellite (Jan. 31st 1958) to orbit the Earth when the U.S. Army launched a scientific satellite using a rocket that had been developed to test guided missile components.

Van Allen Explorer 1


LATER SPUTNIKSLATER SPUTNIKS

Later Sputnik missions carried instruments for geophysical research of the Earth, as well as more plants and animals. There were 41 Sputnik missions in total, none manned.


CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

“Sputnik marked the start of the space age, when Americans had a lot of faith and technology. But it was also the first big moment of national self doubt after World War II. Here we were, the only great power left at the end of World War II. We had the bomb; we had this robust economy; we had post war prosperity. When all of a sudden, in the fall of 1957, the Sputnik Satellite, comes racing across the sky and Americans thought that this was a sign that the Soviets were surpassing us.” – Michael Beschloss, Presidential Historian


CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

“Sputnik fueled the spending of money in the American Space Program. By not launching into space first, the U.S. appeared weak and started many secret operations to win the hearts and minds of the emerging third world nations – scientific proficiency was something we wanted to win back. Science education over the next ten years produced the best scientific community in the world. America eventually regained her leadership in the space race with having men walk on the moon.” – Keith Benson, History of Science Society

Apollo

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