Sputnik 1 was powered by three silver-zinc batteries, which were designed to operate for two weeks. The batteries exceeded expectations, as the satellite continued sending out its radio signal for 22 days. The spacecraft continued lapping Earth in silence for a few more months, its orbit decaying and sending the craft steadily closer to the planet.
The satellite finally burned up in the atmosphere on Jan. Though Sputnik 1 was small, it was quite reflective and therefore visible from Earth through a pair of binoculars and perhaps even with the naked eye, if you had good vision and knew exactly where to look.
Many people reported seeing the satellite overhead in late , but experts think most of these sightings actually involved the R The rocket's foot-long 26 m core stage also reached orbit, and it was covered with reflective panels to make tracking it easier.
This rocket body fell back to Earth on Dec. The launch of Sputnik 1 famously shook the United States. However, Zak added, the U. In the Soviet Union, the first rocket efforts came under the leadership of Mikhail Tikhonravov, Zak wrote.
Tikhonravov was deputy chief of the top-secret NII-4 research institution in Moscow, which was formed shortly after World War II to start work on a Soviet satellite project. Tikhonravov's team's work drew little attention when he made presentations on it within NII-4 and at the Soviet Union's Academy of Artillery Sciences, but Tikhonravov persisted with the work.
However, Tikhonravov's efforts did get the attention of Sergei Korolev , a famous Soviet rocket designer who was working on the R-3 rocket. Korolev, Tikhonravov and others in the team continued development and presentations through the early s. Khrushchev emphasized rocket development as one of his policies to show superiority over the United States in aerospace, Zak said.
The Soviet Academy of Sciences and several Soviet ministers formally approved the satellite program in , laying the groundwork for more focused development, Zak said. The satellite project received even more support after U. President Dwight Eisenhower announced in that the Americans would send a satellite into space during IGY, which lasted from July 1, , to December 31, The Sputnik project was formally approved by the Soviet ministry on Jan.
The Soviets continued refining their design for launch on an R-7 rocket. Sputnik "traveling companion" in Russian was a silver sphere with four long antennas.
It was about 22 inches 56 centimeters in diameter and weighed lbs. Circling the Earth every 98 minutes, it used a radio beacon that was able to pinpoint spots on the Earth's surface. She said the Soviet plans for a "sophisticated" satellite "fell by the wayside, while the Americans persisted in their determination to launch an exclusively civilian satellite system.
Sputnik may have been a compromise, but in the eyes of the world it was a large feat. Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society. Mary Crooks, National Geographic Society. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service.
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