Sputnik

Sputnik 1

Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite of the Ground. Launched by the USSR, and put on orbit the October 4th 1957, by the rocket R-7, designed by the engineer Sergueï Korolev. It was about a sphere 58 cm in diameter, weighing 83,6 kg. Put into orbit on an elliptic orbit at an altitude ranging between 230 and 950 km, it turned around the Earth in approximately 98 minutes.

Its only functionality was the emission of a “bleep-bleep” on the radio frequencies of 20,005 and 40,002 MHz.

This launching was lived like a true traumatism by the the United States, several newspapers compared this event with a Pearl Harbor technological. It proved, according to them, that the Soviets had technology to send a nuclear Missile on the American continent. If the launching of Sputnik 1 seemed a simple event, it marked the beginning of the race between the United States and the USSR for the space conquest. This event thus symbolizes the beginning of the Course with the space, which will take a new rise with the first step of Neil Armstrong on the the Moon.

Disintegration in the atmosphere of Sputnik 1 took place on January 4th, 1958.

Sputnik 2

Launched the November 3rd 1957, this satellite of 500 kg took along in space the first living being, the Chien Laïka. For lack of a device of recovery, the authorities affirm that she died by introducing poisoned food, in order to avoid to him the sufferings of the disintegration of its capsule in the stratosphere, which took place the April 14th 1958. Actually, she perishes approximately 7 hours after launching, of a failure of the system of temperature control, according to the revelations of Doctor Dimitri Malashenkoven in 2002.

Sputnik 2 transported also instruments intended to study the cosmic rays in particular. When the satellite crossed the areas of the terrestrial environment which will be called later a few months the Ceintures of radiations of Van Allen, the instruments correctly detected the presence of these belts. But Sputnik 2 did not have a recorder, it transmitted the results of measurement on line. However when it was of visibility of the territory of the the USSR it was close to the perigee and thus did not detect and transmitted anything special. When the satellite detected radiations it flew over other countries like the Australia and the South America where the stations which collected its signals were unable to interpret them. But the international relations of the time and the weight of the secrecy prevented any communication and comparison of the results between the USSR and the other countries. Otherwise the belts of radiations would have been called the belts of Vernov name of the person in charge of the instrumentation transported by Sputnik 2.

The satellite had not been detached from its booster rocket.

It is during the flight of Sputnik 2 that the the United States launched their first satellite: To explore 1.

Sputnik 3

Sputnik 4

Launched the May 15th 1960, it was a flight test for the Programme Vostok and the manned flights.

Sputnik 5

Sputnik 6

Launched on February 1st 1960, it is the third flight test for the Programme Vostok.

This machine transported two dogs, Pchelka and Mushka. It was destroyed in flight by an explosive load, killing the two animals at the same time.

Sputnik 7 and Sputnik-8

These missions were in fact of launchings of probe towards Venus. The first was a failure, but the second sent the February 12th 1961 the probe Venerated-1.

Sputnik 9

Launched the March 9th 1961, it is the fourth flight test for the Programme Vostok.

This machine transported a mannequin and the Chernushka bitch. The return was a success.

Sputnik 10

Launched the March 25th 1961 since Baïkonour, it is the fifth and last flight test for the Programme Vostok.

This machine transported a mannequin and the Zvezdochka bitch. The return, after 101 minutes from flight and 1 orbital revolution, was a success.

See too

Soyuz

Reference

The Vernov Radiation Belt (Almost) , Science, November 23rd, 1984.

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