50th anniversary of Sputnik
Thursday, 04 Oct 2007 14:37
Sputnik was the first man-made satellite in space
Science In Focus
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Fifty years ago today the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik: the world's first man-made satellite.
About the size of a basketball, Sputnik took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth and its famous 'beep beep' transmission brought in a new era of space exploration.
It triggered the space race between the US and the USSR, with the launch raising fears that if Russia could put a satellite into space then it may also be able to launch missiles which could reach the US.
Fears increased about Russia's capabilities when Sputnik II was launched in November 1957 carrying the first live animal into space – a dog named Laika.
After these launches the scale of space experiments in the US accelerated, with the US Defence Department approving funding for the Explorer project.
On January 31st 1958 the US successfully launched Explorer I, which carried a small scientific payload that eventually discovered the magnetic radiation belts around the Earth.
Sputnik also indirectly resulted in the national aeronautics space act in July 1958 that created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa).
Half a century after these early years of space exploration, huge advances have been achieved – with man reaching the moon; satellites and telescopes probing the far reaches of the universe; and images of the Earth showing the dramatic impact of man-made and natural incidents.