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... isenhowers felling that the US had, No need to compete in this area [satellites], the public did not feel this way. In early 1955 Nelson Rockefeller published a paper to the Operations Coordinating board predicting the shock that a Russian satellite would have on the American people. Even earlier then those researchers at the Office of Navel Research pursued funding for a satellite with the sole reason of calming the American reaction to a eventual Soviet spacecraft. The funding was denied. (Oberg, 1981, p. 227) American insecurity ranged from a mild concern to things as extreme as suicide the only appropriate characterization that begins to capture the mood on October 5 th involves the use of the word hysteria. A collective mental turmoil and soul-searching followed, as American society thrashed around for the answers to Hagen's questions.
Almost immediately, two phrases entered the American lexicon to define time, "pre-Sputnik" and "post-Sputnik. " The other phrase that soon replaced earlier definitions of time was "Space Age. " With the launch of Sputnik 1, the Space Age had been born and the world would be different ever after (Oberg, 1981, p 165). Jim Dawson, science writer for the Star Tribune, wrote about how his third grade teacher was very nervous at the time. His school at Omaha, Neb. , was just a few miles from the Air Force's Strategic Air Command headquarters. A fleet of F- 100 fighters appeared in the sky coming right for the school. "MiGs!" the teacher shrieked. "MiGs!" She ran, hysterical, from the classroom, convinced they were about to be nuked by Russian fighter jets. The kids, mostly Air Force officers children, ran to the windows to admire the F- 100 s, the coolest jet of its day (Levine, 1994, 128). One of the areas of American life that Sputnik still has a great influence on is the Arena of education.
In pre-sputnik America education was based mainly upon the arts and Literature. As a whole education was more passive with an easy curriculum, and the entire education principal was more of teaching about the past. After the launch of sputnik the nation collectively agreed that the United States children were going to be there future weapons against the soviets, so curriculum was based more heavily upon progressive scientific ad mathematical accomplishments. This is an influence that can still be felt to this day. The pandemonium and fear associated with Sputnik was not limited to the American front alone. Many countries around the world, which saw the United States as the stronghold for democracy and technological development became concerned that the US was falling behind.
In early November Prime Minister Harold Macmillan that, The American People are no longer confident that even there great country can do everything itself... I say this with great hesitation and without excuse that this is a real turning point in history. Never has the threat of Soviet communism been so great. Soviet reaction was as could have been expected. There was great celebration and chaos in the streets now that the Soviet empire was technologically on top of the world.
This prompted the beginning of the cold war in their eyes as well (Levine, 1994, p. 74). Along with the launch of Sputnik came an increased sense of Russian nationalism, one Muscovite scientist was quoted as boasting, Americans design better automobile tailing, but we design the best intercontinental ballistic missiles and earth satellites. From the launch of Sputnik 1 scientific progress took leaps and bounds in the fields of missile and space development. Sputnik 1 was not the last of the Sputniks, Sputnik 2 followed suit on November 3, 1957, carrying a dog named Laika ensconced in a pressurized compartment. Laika survived for one week in space, the rhythmic beating of her monitored heart proving that animals could survive the launch.
Laika led the way for human exploration of space by disproving prevailing scientific wisdom that space flight would have been injurious to vital internal organs. Laika did not survive the space flight though. It was the original intent to retrieve the dog after Sputnik 2 entered the atmosphere, but most of the insulation in the satellite and Laika died from the excessive temperature in the craft. It is also rumored that Sputnik @ was built in under 1 month by the same team that built the original Sputnik In May 1958 Sputnik 3, weighing nearly 1, 360 kilograms (2, 400 pounds), was launched. It was not until 1967 that the basic Soviet launch vehicle was displayed. It was a 2 1 / 2 -stage vehicle of the A series: two stages with four drop-away booster pods.
Each booster pod contained four rocket engines (totaling 16) with propellant tankage, and the central core had four engines. Propellants were conventional liquid oxygen and kerosene (Oberg, 1981, p 142). The United States would continue to launch more satellites into space in an effort to keep up with the Russians. The US Vanguard was launched on January 31, 1958. The Vanguard was only about the size of a grapefruit and paled in comparison to the Soviet achievements.
It is know as one of the most successful orbits to date. Even though Vanguard has run out of batteries and can no longer transmit a signal, it is still in orbit and will probably remain in outer space for several hundred years to come. (Oberg, 1981, p. 237) The Jupiter-C was also launched later that year. The Americans may have been comfortable in there achievements; the first 4 U. S. satellites combined didnt equal the Weight of Sputnik 1. Weight being one of the most important factors in the satellite race in that it eventually rockets could carry nuclear warheads, and the larger the weight, the bigger the warhead (Levine, 1994, p. 69).
Sputnik still remains one of the most influential pieces of technology in the 20 th century. It may not have had the capability to do much beyond transmit a signal, but the signal was interpreted differently across the world. To the citizens of the Soviet Union the beeping was a victorious battle hymn. To the Citizens of the United States it was a hammering thud signaling the end of their way of life. No mater how the mere beep was meet; it did signify the end of an era and the beginning of the Arms and space race.
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Research essay sample on History Around The Russian Launch Of Sputnik
