HIstory+in+the+space+program+in+the+Soviet+Union

Jason History of Soviet Union in space

Born in 1907, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev was widely considered to be the founder of the Soviet Space program. In 1957, he proposed that they launch the R-7 design rocket for launching a satellite into orbit. It was to be called Sputnik. The development of Sputnik was completed in less than a month. This new space mission was kept VERY secretive.

Sputnik was a very simple design consisting of a metal sphere, a transmitter, thermal measuring instruments, and batteries. It was launched on October 4, 1957. Sputnik was 58 CM in diameter and was made of high polished 2mm thick aluminum alloy. Sputnik had four whisker-like antennas and it orbited the Earth in about 98 minutes. Then, on November 3, Sputnik II was launched, carrying a much heavier load, including a dog named Laika. This meant "barker".

The launch of Sputnik changed everything. As a great achievement, Sputnik caught the world's attention and the American public off-guard, mainly because they always thought they were always the best. Its size was more impressive than the intended 3.5 lb. load. Thus, 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 the Soviet Union to the U.S.

The cold war was a really real thing and there was a humongous concern of a nuclear exchange. All of a sudden this soviet country had "jumped the gun" on the race and launched a satellite. It had a huge impact. The American public began to question our educational system, they questioned the Eisenhower administration. It was a time of very serious self-doubt across the whole country.

Right after Sputnik, the Soviets turned their attention to the moon. Unmanned probes were launched at the moon in 1958. By 1959, Luna 2 crash-landed on the moon. It was the first man-made object on the moon's surface. By October of that year a third probe had circled around and photographed the far side of the moon.

Because of how secret of the great Soviet space program, Korolev's additions to the space program was only really recognized by the Soviet authorities after his death. For several more decades, Korolev's personality remained a subject of distortions by the official Soviet press. In 1994 the first uncensored biography of Sergei Korolev was published by Yaroslav Golovanov, a Russian journalist and historian.

12 Feb. 2007 <[|http://www.russianspaceweb.com/korolev.html>.] 13 Feb. 2007 