Sputnik's Legacy

Key takeaways

• More than 60 years ago, on October 4, 1957, hundreds of Americans could be seen raising their heads and peering through binoculars in rapt amazement.
• On October 4, despite some nerve-racking malfunctions, the Soviet rocket lifted off and placed the first artificial satellite into the Earth’s orbit.
• But the legacy it has left behind has fostered collaborative explorations that have yielded remarkable advancements for the whole of humanity.

How the space race changed the world… #

More than 60 years ago, on October 4, 1957, hundreds of Americans could be seen raising their heads and peering through binoculars in rapt amazement. The object that had captured everyone’s attention was a brand new entry into our constellation. It would disappear from sight and reappear every 90 minutes or so, and with every pass, newspapers seemed to have a newer headline to stun the nation with. The moving star was Sputnik, the first manmade satellite launched into space by the Soviet Union.

That day, humanity climbed out of its earthbound well and crossed the threshold into a new dimension. The dictionary could now add a more realistic meaning to the word ‘spacefarers’. Not since the first flight in which man finally took to the skies had humans understood the potential of science. To comprehend the implications, consider this – a person 75 years of age in 1957 would have been born in the era of horses and buggies. To that person, the mere mention of a rocket that could launch an object high up into the heavens beyond the Earth’s gravitational pull would have seemed nothing short of an imaginative tale. Yet there they were, listening on a ham radio to the incessant “beep beep beep” of an orbiting sphere.

In fact, at the time of Sputnik, John F. Kennedy, Yuri Gagarin, and Neil Armstrong were just individuals busy in their way of life with little to no indication of wanting anything to do with space. But their lives were soon to be changed, as were those of hundreds of thousands of engineers, technicians, workers and ordinary people everywhere.

The Beginnings #

Sputnik’s story began on April 5, 1950, in Silver Spring, Maryland, where a small group of scientists gathered to discuss the latest theories on Earth’s atmosphere. Hoping to use the collective prowess of some of the best minds in the world, they planted the seeds of what would eventually be called the International Geophysical Year (IGY). The “year” ran from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958, because that was expected to be a period of maximum solar activity.

By July 1955, the Eisenhower administration announced that America would contribute to the effort by launching several small, earth-orbiting satellites. Four days later, the Soviets, too, announced that they would launch a satellite soon.

Little did anyone know then that the space race had just begun.

The International Geophysical Year #

While the American announcement had been made with much fanfare, the Eisenhower administration considered the satellite launch a purely scientific affair and proceeded to fund it accordingly. In parallel, the presidency was very keen on maintaining an edge in the military application of rocket science, given the cold war. Significant research and manpower were invested to that effect.

With tensions between the two countries high, America proceeded with caution regarding its own satellite launch. Instead of using military rockets, the administration chose the untried Vanguard rocket to avoid giving Russia any pretext for causing a provocation.

The Soviets, in contrast, prioritized the launch using a military-grade rocket. They devoted significant resources to the project and made the space program a closely guarded state secret. With the geophysical year being just around the corner, the initial design for a more ambitious satellite was set aside. The Soviets moved toward developing the simplest possible satellite.

The original launch for Sputnik was scheduled for April 1958. But when it became known that the Americans were expected to make public a paper titled “Satellite Over the Planet” at the International Geophysical Year conference in Washington on October 6, 1957, the Soviets assumed that the Americans would launch their satellite a few days ahead of the gathering.

With a great sense of urgency, the Kremlin expedited the launch. On October 4, despite some nerve-racking malfunctions, the Soviet rocket lifted off and placed the first artificial satellite into the Earth’s orbit. Sputnik (“fellow traveller” in Russian, for it orbited the sun alongside the Earth) was a small ball about two feet in diameter. Equipped with a radio transmitter that made an unmistakable beeping sound, it immediately drew the attention of the entire planet.

Perhaps the most shocking thing about Sputnik for U. S. scientists was its weight - 184 pounds. The U. S. space program was working on satellites that weighed a fraction of that. In essence, this meant that the Soviets had far more advanced rockets than what American scientists had to contend with. It also suggested that other conquests of space might be within reach of the Russians - achievements beyond the dreams of U. S. scientists.

The Space War Heats Up #

Within a month, the Soviet Union launched another Sputnik with a passenger: a dog named Lanka. Sputnik 2 was six times heavier and flew higher than the first satellite. The second Sputnik appeared over New York City early on a cold fall morning as “a tiny spot of yellow-white brilliance.”

By then, the Eisenhower government was under immense pressure to catch up. On December 6, 1967, the first Vanguard rocket lifted off from Cape Carnival but lost thrust in two seconds and fell back disgracefully. The administration eventually settled on a military rocket, and the first American satellite made its way to space on January 31, 1958. The satellite weighed about 1/5th that of the soviets, and at 30 pounds of weight, it flew higher - 2,000 miles up.

The space race lasted almost 12 years- from the wake-up call to the first walk on the Moon. It was a thrilling time - infused with mind-boggling science and stupendous engineering.

The Soviet Space program resulted in Yuri Gagarin becoming the first man to visit space. The Americans answer to that achievement? John F Kennedy’s promise to put a man on the Moon by the end of the ’60s. For the world, from the hundreds of launches that followed, perhaps three voyages are most sharply etched in memory.

The Apollo-8 launch in December 1968, whose astronauts became the first to reach the Moon. From their windows, they saw the image synonymous with the picture that comes to mind when someone mentions seeing the Earth from space - mystical blue and green under swirls of white clouds.

Then there was Apollo-11. On July 20, 1969, as the whole world watched on television, Neil Armstrong stepped down the landing craft’s ladder and took “one giant leap for mankind.” Buzz Aldrin joined him for the first walk on the Moon

Post Apollo-11, public interest was beginning to wane. With the devastating events that unfolded for Apollo 13 in April 1970, Americans were reminded of the perils of space travel. By the end of 1972, the last 12 men to walk on the Moon had packed up and returned home, and no one has been there since.

And The Race Continues #

While the official space race has long been dismissed from memory, the will to conquer space has only strengthened with time. There is no denying that today, satellite applications are woven into the fabric of everyday life. From communications to weather monitoring and defense to scientific exploration, the space program has brought remarkable transformation to our existence.

The global coverage of satellites offers a unique, fact-based perspective to help us overcome our most significant challenges. Modern satellites are, of course, a far cry from the Sputnik or the Explorer. Today these satellites can help us improve agricultural yields and protect habitat loss and stop deforestation. We discovered the hole in the ozone layer through these satellites, and their data remains key to fighting climate change.

When Sputnik 1 was launched almost 60 years ago, it was only to win a political space race. But the legacy it has left behind has fostered collaborative explorations that have yielded remarkable advancements for the whole of humanity.

Related reading

• 3D Printing and Space: A Relationship to Cherish
• 5 App Monetization Strategies You Should Know
• 5 New Technologies That Can Enhance The Education World

More in Technology

Questions and answers

How the space race changed the world…? #

More than 60 years ago, on October 4, 1957, hundreds of Americans could be seen raising their heads and peering through binoculars in rapt amazement. The object that had captured everyone’s attention was a brand new entry into our constellation.

The Americans answer to that achievement? #

John F Kennedy’s promise to put a man on the Moon by the end of the ’60s. For the world, from the hundreds of launches that followed, perhaps three voyages are most sharply etched in memory.