Thursday, October 4, 2007

Fiftieth Anniversary of Sputnik launch

Sputnik and The Dawn of the Space Age
"History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball (58 cm.or 22.8 inches in diameter), weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race."

Read more about this historic event at the NASA History Division site.

1 comment:

Cathy W. said...

Another good resource for Sputnik information is this guide created by the Science, Technology, and Business Division of the Library of Congress:
1957-2007: Sputnik and the Space Race
A Guide to Selected Resources