Orion Griffin: Today in history: Launch of Sputnik 1

Orion Griffin, The Newberry Observer, S.C.
·2 min read

Oct. 4—66 years ago, on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world into the space race after sending the first satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit.

Sputnik 1 weighed around 184 pounds and was the first artificial satellite that orbited around earth every 90 minutes, flying at around 17,000 miles per hour. The satellite contained no scientific equipment, just a transmitter that emitted a "beep-beep" that observers around the world could pick up on their radios. The batter ran out on October 26 and on January 4, 1958, Sputnik 1 returned to earth.

Designer Sergei P. Korolev used an R7 rocket, which was originally used as an intercontinental ballistic missile, to launch Sputnik 1 from a site known as Baikonur Cosmodrome in Soviet Kazakhstan in late September. The success of their lunch was announced on October 4, shocking those around the world and spreading fear across America.

The launch of the satellite led many Americans to believe there was a technological gap between the Soviets and Americans. Some believed that the Soviets would be able to annihilate the country from space and that national security was threatened. As a result, Cold War tensions were raised and NASA was created in 1958. In retaliation, America began working on their own satellite.

Before America could get their first into orbit, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, a heavier satellite that contained the first animal that would see space, a three year old dog named Laika. On November 3, 1957, Sputnik 2 carried Laika into orbit. Unfortunately, there was no retrieval system to return Laika to earth. Although it is debated on when she died, the most likely cause of death was four days after launch by overheating of sputnik 2's cabin. Laika never returned to earth, Sputnik 2 disintegrating along with her on April 14, 1958. 50 years later, Russia memorialized her with a monument in Moscow.

The Soviets did not put another living being in a spacecraft until 1961, when they launched the first man into space. The United States was not able to get their first satellite into space until February 1, 1958. In 1969, America became the first country to land a person on the moon.