The Truth about Sputnik

I believe yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first artificial satellite and in response to this anniversery the true story of how Sputnik came to be has finally come out from behind the last vestiges of the Iron Curtain. At least this is new to me and haven't even heard of the guy who dreamed the whole project up and who himself described it as a "spur of the moment" decision in which they were forced to improvise. It seems that not even they knew the furor this launch would cause as they themselves didn't even feel the accomplishment until a few days later when they started to hear how the world was reacting. Another funny thing is the bright light everyone was watching and thinking was Sputnik, well I hate to break it to you but Sputnik was too small to be seen by the human eye. If you saw that bright artificial light that fateful day, I have to tell you it was just a part of the rocket which was in a similar orbit as Sputnik(though much larger). Well enough of my rambling, here is the article, enjoy!

news.wired.com...

MOSCOW (AP) -- When Sputnik took off 50 years ago, the world gazed at the heavens in awe and apprehension, watching what seemed like the unveiling of a sustained Soviet effort to conquer space and score a stunning Cold War triumph.

But 50 years later, it emerges that the momentous launch was far from being part of a well-planned strategy to demonstrate communist superiority over the West. Instead, the first artificial satellite in space was a spur-of-the-moment gamble driven by the dream of one scientist, whose team scrounged a rocket, slapped together a satellite and persuaded a dubious Kremlin to open the space age.

And that winking light that crowds around the globe gathered to watch in the night sky? Not Sputnik at all, as it turns out, but just the second stage of its booster rocket, according to Boris Chertok, one of the founders of the Soviet space program.

So the US response in hindsight was a gross overreaction. Good thing they did overreact too.

[edit on 1-10-2007 by sardion2000]

[edit on 1-10-2007 by sardion2000]

Very interesting read. Thanks for posting

Pravda also published a description of Sputnik's orbit to help people watch it pass. The article failed to mention that the light seen moving across the sky was the spent booster rocket's second stage, which was in roughly same orbit, Chertok said.

Some things never change, do they?

Back in the very late 50's and up to around 1964, the St Joseph (Missouri) Gazette would publish a satellite schedule so people could go out and watch satellites go overhead.

They even ran short articles about above ground nuclear testing, with approximate times. I can remember, only once, seeing the flash, far off in the southwest, around 4 in the morning, around 1960 or so. It was like heat lightening only much more of the horizon was seen.

Entertainment was much cheaper back then...

Those nuke tests would've been neat to see in person(though not too close in person lol). I still go outside at 5 am to try and spot the ISS or the Shuttle every now and then.

This is what I find very interesting about all this..


There we have the picture of sputnik..

And here we have an old mural painting Trinita_Salimbeni_Montalcin,



Did the russians build this to model this old painting?

Nice theory, but according to the article incorrect. But who knows eh? Korolyov is long dead and if he had any reasoning other then that which is recalled by his colleagues then he took it with him to his grave. When and where is taht Mural?

An earlier satellite project envisaged a cone shape, but Korolyov preferred the sphere.

His justification? Get this...

"The Earth is a sphere, and its first satellite also must have a spherical shape," Chertok, a longtime deputy of Korolyov, recalled him saying.

I just wish Korolyov could have lived to see the whole story come out. He was the true Father of the Space Age. The Nobel Commitee wanted to give him the prize, but the Soviets wouldn't allow it as they considered it an achievement for all Soviets or some such commie tripe.

[edit on 1-10-2007 by sardion2000]

[edit on 1-10-2007 by sardion2000]

[edit on 1-10-2007 by sardion2000]

[edit on 1-10-2007 by sardion2000]

If you are interested in this topic, there is an awesome site with cool info here recounting the "Top Ten Sputniks".

collectspace.com...

And under the title Sputnik #3, there is the story of this rich guy who owns a very real version. The odd thing about this quote is that he mentions he owns a Russian Lunar Rover that is still on the moon! How can this be?

collectspace.com...

"About 10 years ago I bought a number of Russian space artifacts," Garriott explained to collectSPACE. "These included a space suit, a lunar rover (still on the moon), a navigational sphere, some models and one of the original Sputniks. With my father being an astronaut and my own inherited passion for space, all these items seem natural for me to want to collect."

Must be cool to have that kinda dough. I'd say he might win the whole "He who dies with the most toys wins" game.

regards....kk