 |
| Sputnik: the first humanly-produced object to orbit the Earth. |
But, back to the scientific context of the date.
Sputnik’s launch on October 4, 1957, had given the Soviets the undeniable early lead in the space race. Americans were appalled at how a bunch of communists could do something like that at all, let alone before we could. The following five paragraphs are from NASA's historical archives.
It's a WAV file of the telemetry (data) Sputnik broadcast. I'll be surprised if you aren't less than impressed by what you hear.
It's a WAV file of the telemetry (data) Sputnik broadcast. I'll be surprised if you aren't less than impressed by what you hear.
"History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball (58 cm.or 22.8 inches in diameter), weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race.
The story begins in 1952, when the International Council of Scientific Unions decided to establish July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958, as the International Geophysical Year (IGY) because the scientists knew that the cycles of solar activity would be at a high point then. In October 1954, the council adopted a resolution calling for artificial satellites to be launched during the IGY to map the Earth's surface.
In July 1955, the White House announced plans to launch an Earth-orbiting satellite for the IGY and solicited proposals from various Government research agencies to undertake development. In September 1955, the Naval Research Laboratory's Vanguard proposal was chosen to represent the U.S. during the IGY.
The Sputnik launch changed everything. As a technical achievement, Sputnik caught the world's attention and the American public off-guard. Its size was more impressive than Vanguard's intended 3.5-pound payload. In addition, the public feared that the Soviets' ability to launch satellites also translated into the capability to launch ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear weapons from Europe to the U.S. Then the Soviets struck again; on November 3, Sputnik II was launched, carrying a much heavier payload, including a dog named Laika.
Immediately after the Sputnik I launch in October, the U.S. Defense Department responded to the political furor by approving funding for another U.S. satellite project. As a simultaneous alternative to Vanguard, Wernher von Braun and his Army Redstone Arsenal team began work on the Explorer project.
On January 31, 1958, the tide changed, when the United States successfully launched Explorer I. This satellite carried a small scientific payload that eventually discovered the magnetic radiation belts around the Earth, named after principal investigator James Van Allen. The Explorer program continued as a successful ongoing series of lightweight, scientifically useful spacecraft.
The Sputnik launch also led directly to the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In July 1958, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act (commonly called the "Space Act"), which created NASA as of October 1, 1958 from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and other government agencies. "After the Russians "won" the initial event in "the space race," there was a massive influx of programs and money into science and math education. I went through school with new math, the Biological Science Study Curriculum, Chem Study, and PSSC Physics.
What we witnessed on 7/20/1969 was evidence that America had overcome its stumbling start of the race. Read this blog for an in-depth look at the first moonwalk. https://tinyurl.com/yxnxdc36
My family was invited to our pastor’s home to watch the moonwalk. The pastor had a color TV, which was still a big deal for my family, whose first color television was over five years away.
I remember sitting around that console TV with my mom and dad, my sister, the pastor, his wife, their four kids, and a newly-engaged couple, the girl which I’d known for years.
Talk before the event centered on how it would be so good to finally put the Soviets in their place in the space race. This moon landing and walk would raise America to what we considered to be an unassailable first-place position.
The most humorous comment I remember was about the lunar lander. One of the adults quipped, “That looks like Wayne’s lifted ’65 Mustang!”
As the hands of the clock neared 8:00 PM, the chatter faded. What would we see first?
Finally, at 7:56, Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lander and down the ladder onto the surface of the moon.
Funny retrospective. All the video shot on the moon was in black and white—the color TV was of no value beyond the size of the screen.
What was my takeaway?
I am part of a generation that truly believed America could do anything. To us, the entire space program was proof of that. We were proud to be Americans.
SEO: nostalgia, Americana, memories, 1950s, 1960s, family, space NASA
Follow me on
Twitter: @CRDowningAuthor
My Blogs
- Life as I see it. Life as I see it. Topics rotate between those of general interest to authors, teachers, and other lovers of life. Posts on Tuesdays and some Mondays. http://crdowning-author.blogspot.com/?alt=rss
- My Christian Context. Posts M/W of discussion questions. Thursdays - Timeless Truths. Fridays - Expressions of Faith. https://mychristiancontext.blogspot.com/
I'd appreciate your feedback on Blogger!
No comments:
Post a Comment