First Sputnik Launch 60 Years Ago Changed Life on Earth Forever
Globally, the reform of the Russian Academy of Science is meant to bring Russian science back to a leading position. After all, we do have a winning record already. Next week, on October 4th, the country will celebrate one of the most exciting and important events in the history of science— 60 years since the Soviet Union launched the first artificial Earth satellite—the PS-1.
The small satellite, a mere 58 cm in diameter, stayed in orbit for three months. Its launch became a revolution not only in the world of space exploration but many other branches of science as well. The story of how the space era began comes from Denis Davydov.
With exhilaration of cosmic proportions, Earthlings stare at the sky with interest never seen before. This tiny light rushing past the stars is a product of man's ingenuity. At the time, it was a triumph of unknown Soviet engineers, but in October 1957, Natalya Korolyova had a reason to stand with her head held up high.
Natalya Korolyova, Daughter of Sergei Korolyov: "I just knew that it was my father's work. I called him and sent him a wire to congratulate him for this major accomplishment. He used to tell me all about spacecraft, space trains, about astronauts flying into space — I didn't believe any of it".
The father of space exploration kept his word. Cosmonauts flew into space, and a space station appeared in our orbit. But Korolyov, the chief designer, received due credit only after his death after his name was declassified.
For the first satellite, a classified decree awarded Sergei Korolyov with the Lenin Prize — he could have gotten a Nobel Prize. Responding to queries from Stockholm, Khrushchev said, "The credit for the satellite launch goes to all Soviet people". He never once mentioned Korolyov's top six designers.
Natalya Korolyova: "Everyone was doing their thing. But Sergei was their unelected leader. He was building the rocket. Pilyugin was working on the navigation systems. Luzhko took care of the engines. Ryazanskiy did the radio systems".
Sergei Ryazanskiy, Cosmonaut: "For me, this date is of particular significance because of my grandfather, Mikhail Ryazanskiy, who contributed to the launch of the first satellite".
Cosmonauts Ryazanskiy and Misurskin are holding a model of the first satellite. They brought it on board specially for the anniversary. It was the decision of the entire crew, which also includes American astronauts.
They know all too well that the historic launch in 1957 is the result of the arms race. Back then, the brilliant minds on both sides of the ocean were trying to build an intercontinental ballistic missile. Russia's design was called the R-7.
Nikolai Shiganov, Doctor of Engineering: "It had a range of 12,000 kilometers, well within range of the US. But Korolyov, who was always dreaming of space flight, convinced the government to launch it into space so that we'd achieve orbital flight and be the first to conquer space. And that's how that sphere came to life".
Nikolai Shiganov's team was in charge of building a unique creation — the PS-1, which was a rather simple satellite consisting of a battery, a radio transmitter, and four antennas.
To make the satellite shiny and better visible from Earth, the satellite's aluminum surface was polished to a mirror finish. The original PS-1 burnt up in the atmosphere after the 92-day flight. But humanity has preserved its exact duplicates, which Korolyov used to test the aerodynamic properties of the craft. The electronics were tested with this one. We are looking at one of the five prototypes of the world's first artificial satellite.
In 1957, Eduard Bolotov was a lieutenant stationed at a rocket testing site, which soon after became the Baikonur spaceport. Their team was watching over the navigation of the satellite. Even before the launch, the young officers had a hand in history, literally.
Eduard Bolotov, Chief Test Engineer at Baikonur: "We signed the nozzles with a pencil. It was strictly forbidden. But we were young boys. So we signed wherever we could reach. Blessing it for the flight, so to speak. 'Good luck!' and a signature".
Sergei Mishenkov, Doctor of Engineering: "A whole army of citizen scientists was recruited. We had to receive the data, ideally, record it on tape, and then send it over with time signatures. You see? It helped to adjust the orbit".
60 years later, the successors of Soviet engineers are accepting congratulations all over the world. A lot of warm words were said at the International Astronautical Congress, which took place in Australia. There were no competitive claims— only ideas of joint space exploration.
Igor Komarov, CEO of Roskosmos: "We understand that we have to work together, whether it's on a lunar program, on the building of a lunar orbital station, or on continued collaboration on the ISS. And the lunar station is our vision of future cooperation on exploring Mars and the Moon».
Incidentally, the Internet, which the humanity now has at its disposal, appeared because of the first satellite. After the successful Soviet launch, the Americans decided that they needed a reliable way to transmit data over long distances. Thus, they started developing computer network technology.
The satellite influenced people's thinking in many ways. For a while, the Sputnik hairstyle was all the rage. Introducing, the latest trend in Japanese fashion— new hairstyles—the Laika and the Sputnik. Sputnik cocktails appeared in foreign bars along with Sputnik dance styles. After 1957, this Russian word sputnik (satellite) made its way into many foreign languages.
Denis Davydov, Aleksander Evtushenko, Ivan Ponomarenko, Aleksander Pushin, Aleksei Kalach and Andrei Karpenko. Vesti-News of the Week.