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50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
INTRODUCTION
October 4th marks the 50th
anniversary of Sputnik 1’s
launch into space. The
satellite was the first manmade 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
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
POST WAR BALLISTIC MISSLE
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.
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
COLD WAR ROCKET RACE
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.
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
COLD 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
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
THE 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.
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
THE 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
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
SPUTNIK 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
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
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.
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
SPUTNIK 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
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
SPUTNIK 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…
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
NASA 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.
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
SPUTNIK II
Sputnik 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…
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
VANGUARD
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.
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
EXPLORER 1
Explorer 1
Van Allen
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.
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
LATER 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.
50th Anniversary
SPUTNIK
CONCLUSION
“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
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CONCLUSION
“Sputnik fueled the spending of
Apollo
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