Sputnik propels space age

It's 50 years since Sputnik was launched by Russia :

The chilly evening of October 4, 1957 is considered as some of the most breathtaking hours in the history

 of mankind. The entire planet was impatiently waiting to see the success of a great scientific feat. But, nobody knew whether it would work out or not, since this was an attempt, a journey into the unknown. What was this feat that the world was so concerned about?

This was the event that tested whether sending a man-made object into outer space was actually possible.

As a new attempt by the Soviet Union, Sputnik 1, a 83 kilogram aluminium sphere inserted into the nose of a Soviet R-7 ballistic missile, was shot skyward from its launch-pad near the edge of the Kyzyl Kum desert, about a hundred miles east of the Aral Sea to become the first man-made object to orbit the Earth.

To the delight of everybody, the mission was a success and this became the beginning of the Space Age. Space Age is the term used to refer to the period comprising space exploration, space travel, space technology and cultural development influenced by these activities.

The launch of Sputnik created this new 'age', and since then the great scientific discoveries related to space and astronomy, exposed many new, exciting breakthroughs which were once considered to be completely magical.

All the scientific achievements made over the last few decades seem as if they happened just a few years ago. But, the Space Age celebrated its fiftieth birthday on October 4, 2007, signifying an eventful lifespan of the Space Age up to then.

Yuri Gagarin's travel in to space, man setting foot on the Moon, numerous space walks, the setting up of the Mir and International Space Station, launch of the Hubble telescope, numerous missions to Mars, Moon and other planets are a few of the amazing achievements made within the last fifty years of the Space Age.

****

Sputnik 1

Sputnik 1 was a 22 inch wide aluminum sphere that weighed 83 kilograms. The size in practical terms can be stated as a bit larger than that of a basketball. This satellite circled Earth every 96 minutes at about 17,000 mph on an elliptical path. Sputnik 1 was destroyed when it re-entered the atmosphere after three months of flight.

****

The Sputnik programme

The Sputnik programme was a series of unmanned space missions launched by the Soviet Union in the late 1950s to demonstrate the possibility of artificial satellites. It included Sputnik 1, the first man-made object to orbit Earth. The Russian name 'Sputnik' literally means 'co-traveller' or 'travelling companion' or simply 'satellite'.

The world's first artificial satellite launch, under the Sputnik missions initiated new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space race between Russia and the United States.

The surprise launch of Sputnik 1, together with the surprising failure of the United States' first two Project Vanguard launch attempts, shocked the United States, which responded with a number of early satellite launches, including Explorer I, Project SCORE, Advanced Research Projects Agency and Courier 1B.

The Sputnik missions also led to the creation of NASA and major increases in U.S. government spending on scientific research and education.

****

Other Sputnik missions

Sputnik 2 was launched on November 3, 1957 and carried the first live passenger, a dog named Laika. The mission planners did not plan the safe return of the spacecraft or its passenger, making Sputnik the first orbital casualty and U.S. observers watched as it burned up re-entering over North America on April 13, 1958.

The first attempt to launch Sputnik 3, on February 3, 1958, failed, but the second on May 15 succeeded, and it carried a collection of instruments for geophysical research.

Sputnik 4 was launched two years later, on May 15, 1960. Sputnik 5 was launched on August 19, 1960 with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, two rats and a variety of plants on board. The spacecraft returned to Earth the next day and all animals were recovered safely.

A variety of Venera, Vostok, Voskhod, Kosmos and other classes of Soviet spacecraft were referred to as Sputniks by American observers, although none of these were actually named 'Sputnik' by the Soviet Union. A number of other missions, ranging from Sputnik 1 to Sputnik 41 have been carried out to date for various explorations.

Aravinda Dassanayake