Sputnik Space Program
The Sputnik Space Program, initiated by the Soviet Union, marked a pivotal moment in the history of space exploration. Its most notable achievement, Sputnik 1, was launched on October 4, 1957, becoming the first artificial satellite to successfully orbit Earth. Weighing 83.6 kilograms and equipped with a distinctive radio signal, Sputnik 1 completed 1,440 orbits before re-entering the atmosphere in January 1958. This landmark event was not just a technological triumph; it catalyzed the Cold War space race, prompting the United States to establish NASA in response to Soviet advancements. Following Sputnik 1, several additional missions were launched, including Sputnik 2, which carried the first living creature, a dog named Laika, into space. The program provided valuable scientific data, including insights into Earth's atmosphere and the effects of space travel on biological entities. The legacy of the Sputnik program not only underscores the competition between superpowers but also laid the groundwork for future collaborative efforts in space exploration, such as the joint Soyuz-Apollo mission and the International Space Station. Overall, the Sputnik program represents a significant chapter in humanity's journey into space, highlighting both the spirit of discovery and the geopolitical tensions of the era.
Sputnik Space Program
FIELDS OF STUDY: Space Technology; Aerospace Engineering; Orbital Mechanics
ABSTRACT: The Sputnik space program was the crucial first space program of the Soviet Union. It successfully launched Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth. The program gathered important data about Earth’s atmosphere and played a significant role in the Cold War.
First Step into Space
On October 4, 1957, a small metal object was shot into space and into history. Sputnik 1, a silver, beach-ball-sized satellite with four long, thin antennae on one side, was launched into space by the Soviet Union. Launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with the help of an R-7 rocket, the 83.6-kilogram (about 184 pounds) Sputnik 1 satellite orbited Earth once every ninety-eight minutes. Its distinctive signal—a beep about three-tenths of a second long, followed by an equal silence in a repeating cycle—was transmitted for about three weeks before Sputnik 1’s chemical batteries ran out and the satellite lapsed into silence. It remained in orbit for 1,440 passes around Earth before its orbit began to decay ninety-two days after it was launched. The satellite burned up in the atmosphere on January 4, 1958. Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth, but it was not the last. A man-made object has been in geocentric orbit almost consistently since its launch.
In addition to making the Soviets the first into space, Sputnik 1 had other scientific purposes as well. As it orbited, the satellite gathered information about the thickness of the upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere and the effect of the ionosphere on the transmission of radio waves.
After the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a parallel battle to prove superiority in space. The Sputnik program and the launch of Sputnik 1 were spurred by this tense incentive as well as by an initiative from the International Council of Scientific Unions issued in 1952. The union knew that solar activity cycles would be at a peak between July 1, 1957, and December 31, 1958, and it designated that time frame as the International Geophysical Year (IGY). A related resolution in October 1954 encouraged the launch of artificial satellites during the IGY for Earth-mapping purposes. The United States moved forward with its Vanguard satellite program in 1955. However, the Soviets surprised much of the world when Sputnik 1 won the race into space.
During the time it orbited Earth, Sputnik 1 was observable with the naked eye as a blip of light in the sky. Its signal could also be heard indirectly on radio and television broadcasts. Ham-radio operators were able to hear it live while it was in orbit overhead.
The Sputnik Program Continues
Sputnik 1 was the first in a series of Sputnik missions launched by the Soviet Union between 1957 and 1961. While Sputnik 1 was still orbiting and the world was continuing to absorb the significance of this feat, the Soviets followed up on November 3, 1957, with the launch of Sputnik 2. This was a heavier, larger unit. It also carried the first animal into space, a dog named Laika. Along with the equipment necessary for data transmission and orbiting, Sputnik 2 included food, water, a camera and other monitoring equipment, and a waste-collection system. Neither the craft nor its passenger returned to Earth. However, the mission provided information on the radiation experienced in space and helped scientists learn the effects of space travel on a life-form.
The next eight Sputnik missions were launched between 1958 and 1961. Design of the heavy satellite that flew as Sputnik 3 actually began in 1956 with the goal of launching it as the first satellite in space. However, the building process for the craft, known during planning phases as Object D, took longer than planned. To ensure victory over the United States, the Soviets launched Sputnik 1, a simpler satellite, instead. The next missions included instruments aimed at determining the parameters of a space vehicle and equipment that would be needed for manned space flight. Because of this focus, the Soviets began naming the crafts Korabl-Sputnik ("spaceship satellite") to distinguish them as tests for future manned vehicles. Korabl-Sputnik 2 carried two dogs, Belka and Strelka, as well as the usual scientific instruments. It was the first space vehicle to successfully return to Earth. Korabl-Sputnik 4 carried both a canine passenger named Chernushka and a dummy astronaut. It, too, made a successful reentry. All three dogs were recovered unharmed.
Sputnik Leads to Another First for the Soviet Union
The information gathered from the Sputnik missions paved the way for the manned missions on the various Vostok spacecraft. Vostok 1 carried the first human being into space. Yuri A. Gagarin (1934–68), a twenty-seven-year-old fighter pilot, was launched into space on April 12, 1961. His spherical craft was equipped with external radio antennae. It had two main compartments. One was a service module that housed the support systems, orientation rockets, and chemical batteries. The other was the cabin that housed Gagarin. This section included communications equipment, instruments for data review and recording, a life-support system, and an ejection seat. The two sections were set to separate before the manned capsule returned to Earth. Because scientists had no way to know for sure how Gagarin would be affected by weightlessness, Vostok 1 was designed to be piloted from Earth. The onboard flight controls could only be operated with the use of a key kept in a sealed envelope for emergencies.
After one orbit lasting one hour and forty-eight minutes, the body of the spacecraft returned to Earth. Gagarin ejected when he was about seven kilometers (a little more than four miles) above Earth and returned via a parachute. The mission was captured by both radio and television transmissions from space. It preceded the first flight to put an American into space by less than one month.
Significance of the Sputnik Program
The Sputnik program accomplished a number of scientific goals, including the first orbits of Earth by both a machine and a human being. The various missions gathered vast amounts of information about Earth and its atmosphere. These were the first observations and studies of space to be undertaken from space itself.
The importance of the program went beyond its scientific accomplishments. The Soviets took the early lead with Sputnik 1 and the first manned flight into space. Driven by both the desire to achieve technological superiority and concerns about the effects of Soviet satellites in Earth orbit while relations between the two countries remained tense, the United States created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958. A short time later, President John F. Kennedy (1917–63) issued a challenge to the fledgling space agency when he promised that the United States would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
The Soviets struggled with their lunar program while the American program experienced many successes, including the first manned moon landing on July 20, 1969. The period between the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957 and the United States’ Apollo 11 lunar landing in 1969 is often referred to as the "space race."
As the Cold War died down, interest began to grow in pooling knowledge and resources between the two superpowers. The joint Soyuz-Apollo mission in 1975 involved spacecraft from the two countries docking with each other. The crews of each shook hands in space. This was a precursor to the joint missions that would occur once the long-term Mir space station was launched.
While the Soviets’ early success in space caught much of the world off guard and created concern at a time when tensions were high between the two superpowers, some identified another important factor of the accomplishment. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), president of the United Sates at the time of the Sputnik 1 launch, knew that the Soviets’ efforts were establishing the idea of "freedom of space." Air space over a country is considered to belong to that country and is monitored, patrolled, and protected by that country. Outer space, however, belonged to everyone and no one. Satellites of one country could freely orbit over another country. Without widespread acceptance of this concept, the orbit of satellites would have been restricted and made less effective or even impossible.
In the years that followed, the United States and the country formerly known as the Soviet Union collaborated on a number of projects in space, including the International Space Station. The technology that made these twenty-first-century accomplishments possible began with the first tentative steps into space that led to the Sputnik 1 launch.
Principal Terms
- Object D: early designation of Sputnik 3, designed by the Soviets in 1956 and intended to be the first satellite sent into space. Because of its complicated design, it was not finished in time for the first launch.
- R-7 rocket: the Soviet-designed rocket that launched Sputnik 1 into space. Versions of the rocket have continued to be used to send craft into space.
- satellite: technically, any small object, either natural or artificial, that orbits around a larger object. However, the term is most often applied to man-made objects that are placed in orbit around Earth or another celestial body for research, monitoring, or communication purposes.
- Soviet Union: also known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), established in 1922 in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution in 1917. By its end in 1991, the union was made up of fifteen republics.
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