Sputnik+-+p2

By: Jack

Sputnik

On October 4, 1957 Sputnik was launched into space by the Soviet Union. The designer of Sputnik was Sergei Korolev. Sputnik was the size of a basketball and weighed only 183 lbs. When it was launched, it had a protective conical shell around it. It took 98 minutes to orbit the Earth and it sent back a signal to Earth for 23 days until the mission was ended on October 27, 1957. This changed the world technologically, scientifically, and politically. This date marked the start of the Space Race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. If it weren’t for Sputnik, we would not have NASA today. NASA was created as a result of Sputnik.

Sputnik was launched by an R-7 rocket. The duration of this mission was 3 weeks. Sputnik made 1,440 orbits. Sputnik was made out of aluminum alloy. It had four antennas that were 2.4 and 2.9 meters in length. It had two radio transmitters and it was believed to orbit the earth at about 150 miles per hour. Sputnik started its orbit on October 4, 1957 and was burned up on January 4, 1957.

The second Sputnik satellite (Sputnik 2) was launched on November 3, 1957. It carried a dog named Laika. Information was sent back for about a week and the dog was put to sleep.

The last Sputnik (Sputnik 3) was launched on May 15, 1958. It was in orbit for 2 years. This Sputnik was intended to be a space laboratory to study the Earth’s magnetic field and radiation belt. This one could actually hold cameras and other data transmitters. It was the most technological of the three.

The Sputnik satellites started the space travel development. It opened new doors and everyone had to try it. That is how the U.S. started to develop new spacecrafts. If it weren’t for Sputnik, we wouldn’t have been the first people on the moon.

In conclusion, Sputnik started the space race. It started a huge revolution. Sputnik changed our world.



Work Sited Sites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1 http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/space_missions/sputnik.html Books: //Sputnik to space Shuttle// by Iain Nicolson Dood Mead and Co. New York //The Soviet Manned Space Program//