October 4, 1957 , It Was Sputnik Day, Today It Is Space For Humanity And Peace
By Countercurrents.org
05 October 2012
Countercurrents.org
It was Sputnik moment. Humanity's first-ever artificial satellite was lunched.
Sputnik, the first human-made object was sent to space by Soviet Union , the erstwhile USSR , on October 4, 1957 . It was beginning of a great journey by humanity. People around the world felt proud with the Soviet achievement.
Today, with militarization of the space, with increased pollution of the space, with other hazards being built up and spread around the space, claiming the space as a commons has become an immediate task. Humanity needs a clean, clear space for all, for peace. Our space is not for reaping profit by capital.
Clara Moskowitz writes [1]:
Fifty-five years ago today, the Space Race was kicked into gear by a silver basketball flying through the sky.
Sputnik 1, the Soviet probe that became the first manmade object to reach space, launched Oct. 4, 1957 . The feat proved the Soviet Union 's technological bonafides and spurred the United States into stepping up its game in space.
Sputnik ("traveling companion" in Russian) was a small sphere about 22 inches (56 centimeters) in diameter, with four long antennas protruding from its head. The 183-pound (83 kilograms) probe used a radio beacon to send a beeping sound back to Earth as it orbited the planet every 98 minutes.
This beeping was played over the world's radio stations, and in combination with the sight of the probe orbiting Earth, sparked fear in Americans that our country was falling behind the Soviets in technological capability.
At the time, Sputnik's significance lay in the prestige it gave the Soviet Union and the anxiety it provoked in that nation's Cold War enemies. Fifty-five years later, however, historians say this first artificial satellite's biggest impact was the incredible legacy of space exploration achievements it inspired.
"In the 55 years since Sputnik first beeped its way around the planet, the small silver sphere with its whip-like antennas has transcended the Soviet Union 's success to become a symbol for a global Space Age," said space history and artifacts expert Robert Pearlman, editor of collectSPACE.com.
Sputnik has been credited for helping instigate President John F. Kennedy's 1961 declaration that America would put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s — a move designed in part to reestablish U.S. technological superiority.
Without Sputnik, as well as the Soviet Union's ensuing achievement of putting the first man into space — Yuri Gagarin in April 1961 — experts have questioned whether American astronauts would have walked on the moon as soon as they did, or ever. In a sense, the victory of the Apollo 11 moon walk in July 1969 can be traced all the way back to Sputnik.
Pearlman told SPACE.com: "The real Sputnik may have fallen out of orbit in January 1958, but its impact and iconography continue to circle the world today."
At this point, more than half a century after the probe's launch, the United States is facing another key moment in space. The 30-year space shuttle program is finished, and NASA is regrouping for its next phase of space exploration.
President Barack Obama has challenged the space agency to send people to an asteroid by 2025 and to Mars by the mid 2030s. NASA is outsourcing transportation of its astronauts to the International Space Station to the private sector, and aiming to build a new heavy-lift rocket to travel beyond low-Earth orbit.
In economically troubled times, space advocates are having a hard time convincing lawmakers and taxpayers that space is worth the expense. Perhaps we need another Sputnik moment to fire up the nation about space the way that little satellite did 55 years ago.
The anniversary is being marked by the 13th annual World Space Week, which includes hundreds of space-themed events in dozens of countries from Oct. 4 through Oct. 10.
A weeklong international celebration of spaceflight and exploration kicked off on Oct. 4 with hundreds of events planned in countries [2].
The 13th annual World Space Week runs from Oct. 4 through Oct. 10 — both key dates in the history of space exploration.
On Oct. 4, 1957 , the Soviet Union lofted Sputnik 1, and the Outer Space Treaty, which forms the basis for international space law, came into effect on Oct. 10, 1967 .
This year, World Space Week's theme: Space for Human Safety and Security .
More than 350 events spread across nearly 50 countries will highlight the ways in which humanity's space activities make daily life better for us here on Earth, organizers said.
The events cover a lot of ground, both literally and figuratively. They include an astrophotography exhibition in New Delhi , India , a presentation by NASA astronaut Mike Foreman in Cleveland , Ohio , about NASA's commercial crew program.
The United Nations established World Space Week in 1999, and the event was first held a year later. The U.N. continues to help organize the annual celebration, according to the World Space Week Association.
World Space Week has five main goals, according to its website: 1) Educate people around the globe about the benefits of spaceflight and exploration; 2) Encourage greater use of space for sustainable economic development; 3) Show that space programs enjoy public support; 4) Get young people excited about science; and 5) Encourage international cooperation in space outreach and education.
Remy Melina, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer, wrote on Sputnk moment [3]:
The original Sputnik moment came a couple of weeks after Sputnik 1, the first Earth-orbiting satellite, was launched into orbit by the Soviet Union .
"A Sputnik moment is a trigger mechanism, an event that makes people collectively say that they need to do something, and this sets a course in another direction," said Roger Launius, senior curator of the National Air and Space Museum's division of space history at the Smithsonian Institution.
The small Sputnik satellite heralded the dawn of the so-called Space Race between the U.S. and Soviet Union .
Sputnik 2 was launched on Nov. 3, 1957 , and because of the Space Race going on at the time, the US attempted to launch Vanguard TV3 on Dec. 6, 1957 , but the fuel tanks of the rocket to which the satellite was attached ruptured and exploded on the launch pad.
The NASA was organized and the National Defense Education Act, which provided funding for improving science and mathematics education.
Similarly, China 's advancement, which includes developing technology for the highest-efficiency coal plants and rapidly installing turbines for wind energy-generating fields, has made U.S. government officials take notice of our own need to increase funding in energy innovation.
The fear of another Sputnik moment may drive the U.S. to re-invest in clean energy as well as education, science and innovation fields.
Source :
[1] SPACE.com , “How Sputnik Changed the World 55 Years Ago Today”, http://news.yahoo.com/sputnik-changed-world-55-years-ago-today-182603077.html
[2] “'World Space Week' Launches Today on Sputnik Anniversary”, http://www.space.com/17881-world-space-week-2012-sputnik-anniversary.html
[3] “What Exactly Is a 'Sputnik Moment?'” Dec. 7, 2010 ,
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