On October 4th 1957 something happened that rocked the world - the first man-made object was intentionally launched into space- the launch of Sputnik1. What rocked the world most about it was that it was made by the Russians, not the Americans. That one launch ingnited (literally) a series of events called the Space Race in which America and Russia were competing over space exploration.
Sputnik 1 was a metal sphere about 23" in diameter with 4 long antannae. The heat shield was 1 mm thick and made of made of aluminum-magnesium-titanium. It released a signal that could be picked up by amature radio operators around the world. It also collected data from the atmosphere, which it sent back by radio signal. It identified the upper atmosphere density and provided data on radio-signal distribution in the ionosphere. It continued to send out signals for 22 days, then it's battery ran out. It finnally fell to earth and burned up in the atmosphere on the 4th of January 1958
The launch of sputnik was an important milestone in history. It put pressure on Americans to win the space race and inspired many rocket scientists such as Homer Hickam.
Sincerely, Space Cadet
Sputnik 1 was a metal sphere about 23" in diameter with 4 long antannae. The heat shield was 1 mm thick and made of made of aluminum-magnesium-titanium. It released a signal that could be picked up by amature radio operators around the world. It also collected data from the atmosphere, which it sent back by radio signal. It identified the upper atmosphere density and provided data on radio-signal distribution in the ionosphere. It continued to send out signals for 22 days, then it's battery ran out. It finnally fell to earth and burned up in the atmosphere on the 4th of January 1958
The launch of sputnik was an important milestone in history. It put pressure on Americans to win the space race and inspired many rocket scientists such as Homer Hickam.
Sincerely, Space Cadet
No comments:
Post a Comment