Robert McNeesThe Space Age began sixty six years ago, #OTD in 1957, when Sputnik 1 was launched into low Earth orbit. It was the first satellite made by humans.
Image: NSSDC, NASA
Eleven days later, on the 15th, scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory produced this plot showing where Sputnik 1 would pass over the course of its next few orbits.
This was the first example of scientists tracking and then forecasting the position of a human-made object in space.
Image: Naval Research Laboratory
NASA has a terrific collection of resources related to Sputnik 1.
Here's the first US image of the satellite, taken by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's IGY satellite tracking camera on October 17, 1957.
https://history.nasa.gov/sputnik.html
Image: NASA / SAO
But in my opinion this is the best one: NASA's recording of the Sputnik “beep.”
https://soundcloud.com/nasa/sputnik-beep?si=2c7b72d82a224767a7e017cf248b549b
Sputnik: Beep
Hello, we’re NASA. You may have seen our astronauts, rocket launches, or Mars rovers — but have you heard our sounds? From interviews with astronauts and engineers to stories that take you on a tour o
The mood in the Pentagon was grim. A young Jeff Goldblum raced down the hallways to let his bosses know the latest intel on the Soviet satellite.
Its Called Sputnik!
Stargeezer Smith@mcnees
Not being politically astute then and already interested in astronomy (I was in the 6th grade), I was ecstatic.
Not being politically astute then and already interested in astronomy (I was in the 6th grade), I was ecstatic.