On the evening of October 4, 1957, a rocket carrying a small aluminum sphere took off from the steppes of Kazakhstan. A few minutes later, Sputnik-1 separated from it and began to orbit the Earth. For the first time, mankind put an artificial object into orbit.
The launch took place at 22:28 Moscow time from site No. 1 in the Tyura-Tam region - the facility that later received the name Baikonur Cosmodrome. The rocket was developed on the basis of the R-7, created under the leadership of chief designer Sergei Korolev. NASA later defined the event as the beginning of the space age.
A sphere with a diameter of 58 centimeters
Sputnik-1 was a relatively simple device by today's standards - a spherical body with a diameter of 58 centimeters and a mass of 83.6 kilograms. It did not have cameras or sophisticated scientific instruments. Its main task was to send radio signals and prove that a human construction could be launched and maintained in orbit.
The two transmitters operated at frequencies of 20.005 and 40.002 megahertz. The device began to emit the characteristic "beep-beep" signal, which could be picked up by radio stations and radio amateurs in different parts of the world. The official TASS announcement described the device as the first satellite launched in the Soviet Union and stated that its signals were intended for reception by a wide range of radio amateurs.
An Orbit That Changed Relations Between the Two Powers
Sputnik 1's initial orbit was elliptical — with a perigee of about 228 kilometers and an apogee of about 947 kilometers. One orbit around the Earth took approximately 96 minutes. The transmitters operated for about three weeks before their batteries ran out on October 26. The device itself remained in orbit until January 4, 1958, when it re-entered the atmosphere and burned up.
Although the satellite was intended for the scientific program of the International Geophysical Year, the impact of the launch was much broader. The United States took the success as proof that the USSR had a rocket capable of delivering a payload over great distances. John Kazani, an engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, later recalled:
Sputnik 1 kicked off the space race between the USSR and the United States. After the launch, Washington accelerated its own satellite program, and in 1958 NASA was created. The small sphere, sending a monotonous signal over the planet, became a symbol of technological rivalry during the Cold War and humanity's first step into space.
Sources: TASS