The Space Age began on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched the first man-made satellite into space, much to the surprise and disappointment of the U.S. government. While launching objects into space is commonplace today, in the midst of the Cold War in the 1950s, it was a major demonstration of a country’s strength. Sputnik orbiting the Earth contributed to a growing fear that the U.S. was not nearly as technologically advanced as its Russian rivals. In comparison, the U.S. unsuccessfully tested several rockets and missiles throughout the rest of the decade.
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Sputnik was the size and shape of a basketball, 58 cm in diameter, with four antennas protruding from its body. Although it was small, it weighed 80 kg. Its spherical body housed two radio transmitters powered by three silver-zinc batteries that died just 22 days after the satellite was put into orbit. They lasted less than a month, but it exceeded all expectations.
Even though its batteries ran out within a month, Sputnik was still able to stay in orbit. The satellite orbited the Earth for a total of 92 days before breaking up and falling back to Earth. It did not have boosters like today’s satellites, so repositioning was not possible. Despite its short lifespan, Sputnik still served a scientific purpose and had a specific mission – although it was not as nefarious as many thought at the time.
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Sputnik-1 had five main goals
Modern satellites send messages around the planet and take incredibly detailed photos of the cosmos. Sputnik didn’t have all the features of today’s satellites, but it was sent into space with five goals in mind. First, scientists at the time had many questions or theories about how best to put an object into Earth’s orbit, and putting Sputnik there was one way to test them. Second, the Soviets used Sputnik to get a better idea of the density of the atmosphere by using the time it took the satellite to decay to reach their conclusions.
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Many who lived to see this monumental feat can still remember the faint chirping sounds the satellite emitted over radio waves. Sputnik’s transmission lasted a total of 0.3 seconds, followed by an equally brief pause and a repeated chirp. According to NASA, this was a test of the third goal: “To determine the effects of radio wave propagation through the atmosphere.” The final two scientific questions Sputnik hoped to answer revolved around testing the principles of space pressurization through its nitrogen-pressurized envelope and helping scientists better understand how to track objects in orbit.
If there were ever concerns that Sputnik-1 was a technologically advanced spy satellite, those concerns were unfounded. There was a long list of spy satellites that flew through space during the Cold War, but Sputnik-1 was not one of them.
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Sputnik brought the US space agency into action
The Soviet Union was originally working on a 3,000-pound satellite to launch into space, but its desire to beat the United States to it led it to launch the much smaller satellite first. Tensions between the USSR and the United States were high, and Sputnik was a concern for the U.S. government. Although President Eisenhower remained calm in his address to the country, he subsequently increased funding for the necessary agencies to keep up with Russia.
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Frustrated by the infighting between the various military branches while attempting to launch a satellite, Eisenhower agreed to create a civilian space agency to work alongside the already existing National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA). On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower supported the creation of NASA by signing the National Aeronautics and Space Act. Without Sputnik, NASA may never have been created and the United States may never have made it to the moon.
The use of a rocket to launch a satellite into space increased fears that the USSR was close to developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could also hit the United States. This fear also led U.S. government leaders to create the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
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