Secrets of 1957 Sputnik launch revealed

Yahoo News / AP ^ | October 1, 2007 | VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

[Stoat]

Jay Walker poses with his Sputnik satellite in his Ridgefield, Conn., home Friday, Sept. 28, 2007. The satellite, which Walker says is neither a model nor a replica, is one of the Sputnik satellites built by the Soviets in 1957. He says he acquired the satellite through a listing on eBay. (AP Photo/Bob Child)

Jay Walker poses with his Sputnik satellite in his Ridgefield, Conn., home Friday, Sept. 28, 2007. Walker says that he acquired the spacecraft, which he says is one of the original Sputniks built by the Soviets in 1957 and is neither a model nor a replica, through a listing placed on eBay by a pilot who frequently flew the Moscow route. Walker is the executive producer of the documentary film 'Sputnik Mania' that is being brought out in connection with the 50th anniversary of the launch of the original Sputnik on Oct. 4, 1957. Walker is the founder of Priceline.com. (AP Photo/Bob Child)

Graphic and illustration on Sputnik 1, the world's first satellite that was launched by Russia on October 4, 1957.(AFP Illustration)

Sputnik 1 -- the world's first artificial satellite -- was launched in 1957 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.(AFP/TASS)

[Tennessee Nana]

Yuri Gagarin, the russian astronaut, was a hero

[shield]

bfl

[LZ_Bayonet]

Sounds like they “awakened a sleeping giant” into a development surge that they couldn’t match, especially from a cost perspective.

[Moonmad27]

You’re absolutely right about Gagarin. And now, after hearing about it since I was a kid, I feel sad for the dog, who didn’t know what was going on as he was trapped up there.

[MaxMax]

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.

Thats ok, look where it made America go. America always needs a challenge to go beyond imagination.

[dragnet2]

Great article, thanks for sharing.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I remember all of our family standing out in the yard watching that little spot of light move across the heavens.

So it was only a second stage booster it was still facinating!

[grey_whiskers]

Two points stand out:

1) The Communists lied and exaggerated, aided by the mainstream press.

2) Notice the Kruschev's son is in a position at an Ivy League school?

Cheers!

[LibFreeOrDie]

Read a little further:

the world's first orbiter was born out of a very different Soviet program: the frantic development of a rocket capable of striking the United States with a hydrogen bomb.

[Stoat]

Sounds like they “awakened a sleeping giant” into a development surge that they couldn’t match, especially from a cost perspective.

And thank goodness they did......from the article:

As described by the former scientists, the world's first orbiter was born out of a very different Soviet program: the frantic development of a rocket capable of striking the United States with a hydrogen bomb.

Because there was no telling how heavy the warhead would be, its R-7 ballistic missile was built with thrust to spare — "much more powerful than anything the Americans had," Georgy Grechko, a rocket engineer and cosmonaut, told AP.

The Leftist apologists and appeasers would have been delighted if we had grabbed our ankles after Sputnik and had believed their lies about how the Soviets were no threat and they wanted only to be our friends....the Commies were ready, willing and able to turn American cities into a radioactive wasteland.

Remember when Khrushchev said "We will bury you!" ?

He meant it.

[Stoat]

Great article, thanks for sharing.

I'm delighted that you've enjoyed it, and you're quite welcome!  :-)

[Stoat]

I remember all of our family standing out in the yard watching that little spot of light move across the heavens.

It must have been both magical and awe-inspiring as well as terrifying, considering the demonic source of that little white spot of light.

So it was only a second stage booster it was still facinating!

Agreed....the booster was in a similar orbit as the Sputnik so it makes little difference.

I remember all of our family standing out in the yard watching that little spot of light move across the heavens.

It must have been both magical and awe-inspiring as well as terrifying, considering the demonic source of that little white spot of light.

So it was only a second stage booster it was still facinating!

[Richard from IL]

The oldest man made satellite in orbit, Vanguard 1, was designed by my father.
http://www.lindahall.org/events_exhib/sputnik/sputnik_roger.shtml

[Buffalo Head]

How nice it is. 14 posts and none of the usual jerks have posted inane comments in their adolescent attempts at humor.

[Mr. Jazzy]

Both points are correct.

If their first attempt at human space flight had ended in death for the occupant of the vehicle, then we would not have heard of it until now.

Gagarin also did not land with his craft. The Russians did not have the technology (or the confidence!) in their vehicle to insure that the occupant in the craft would land safely. At a predetermined altitude, Gagarin was ejected from the craft and parachuted to earth. The Russians continued to use this type of “safe landing” system for a number of years until they employed a better way to slow down returning craft by a means of parachutes and rockets that fired just prior to touchdown.

[Stoat]

The oldest man made satellite in orbit, Vanguard 1, was designed by my father.

WOW!  That's tremendous!

A graduate of Middlebury College with a degree in physics, Mr. Easton has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors for his technical achievements. Most notably, in 2006 President Bush awarded Mr. Easton the prestigious National Medal of Technology at a White House ceremony for his work with spacecraft tracking and GPS.

And congratulations as well!

I'm sure that you're aware of this site, but others here might not be.  I found it interesting because it continuously tracks how many orbits Vanguard 1 has made as well as how many miles it's traveled since launch.

VANGUARD 1 SATELLITE HISTORY

[RayChuang88]

What's amazing is that the R-7 launcher rocket that was designed in the 1950's is still operational today in an updated form as a satellite launcher! The Russians still use it to launch the current generation Soyuz TMA spacecraft that regularly visits the International Space Station. And this launcher rocket will soon operate from ESA's launch site Kourou in French Guiana.

[Stoat]

What's amazing is that the R-7 launcher rocket that was designed in the 1950's is still operational today in an updated form as a satellite launcher! The Russians still use it to launch the current generation Soyuz TMA spacecraft that regularly visits the International Space Station. And this launcher rocket will soon operate from ESA's launch site Kourou in French Guiana.

Wow....that is indeed astonishing, I hadn't heard that before.

I suppose it may be because during the Cold War, the Soviets were perhaps madly and frantically trying to catch up with us in other areas, and so new R&D for lifting rockets had to be put on the back burner ?  Particularly when they already had one that worked, a new model may have been difficult for them to justify to their Kremlin bosses.

Considering that the SR-71 Blackbird was a 1950's vintage design and was only retired from service a few years ago, it makes me wonder what's been going on in those secret aerospace research labs for all this time......

[SoCal Pubbie]

You mean like the fact an even more momentous event happened just 44 days later? I was born!

I’m not laughing though. It makes me feel kind of old!