Sputnik (1949-1961) | The Cold War (8 of 24)
0Original Airdate: November 15, 1998
In the mid-50's the Soviet Union seems to be forging ahead. In October 1957, the first Soviet satellite Sputnik orbits the earth--much to the dismay and fear of the U.S., frustrated by its own ineffectual space program. In 1961, the Soviets launch Yuri Gagarin into space. America will have to meet the challenge.
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Sputnik, any of a series of three artificial Earth satellites, the first of whose launch by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, inaugurated the space age. Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite launched, was a 83.6-kg (184-pound) capsule. It achieved an Earth orbit with an apogee (farthest point from Earth) of 940 km (584 miles) and a perigee (nearest point) of 230 km (143 miles), circling Earth every 96 minutes and remaining in orbit until January 4, 1958, when it fell back and burned in Earth’s atmosphere. The launch of Sputnik 1 shocked many Americans, who had assumed that their country was technologically ahead of the Soviet Union, and led to the “space race” between the two countries...
The Soviets officially called only three satellites Sputnik. In the West, however, Sputnik was used as a generic name for Soviet satellites. These “Sputniks” included the first probes to Venus (Venera 1) and Mars (Mars 1), as well as five missions in the Korabl-Sputnik program, which tested the crewed Vostok spacecraft before Yuri Gagarin’s flight in 1961.
https://www.britannica.com/technology/Sputnik
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The son of a carpenter on a collective farm, Gagarin graduated as a molder from a trade school near Moscow in 1951. He continued his studies at the industrial college at Saratov and concurrently took a course in flying. On completing this course, he entered the Soviet Air Force cadet school at Orenburg, from which he graduated in 1957.
Gagarin’s 4 3/4-ton Vostok 1 spacecraft was launched at 9:07 AM Moscow time on April 12, 1961, orbited Earth once in 1 hour 29 minutes at a maximum altitude of 187 miles (301 km), and landed at 10:55 AM in the Soviet Union. His spaceflight brought him immediate worldwide fame. He was awarded the Order of Lenin and given the titles of Hero of the Soviet Union and Pilot Cosmonaut of the Soviet Union. Monuments were raised to him, and streets were renamed in his honour across the Soviet Union.
Gagarin never went into space again but took an active part in training other cosmonauts. He made several tours to other nations following his historic flight, and from 1962 he served as a deputy to the Supreme Soviet. Gagarin was killed with another pilot in the crash of a two-seat jet aircraft while on what was described as a routine training flight. His ashes were placed in a niche in the Kremlin wall. After his death in 1968 the town of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yuri-Gagarin
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On October 4, 1957, the U.S.S.R. launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite.
On November 3, 1957, the U.S.S.R. placed the first animal in a spacecraft, the dog Laika aboard Sputnik 2.
On February 1, 1958, the first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, was launched.
On April 9, 1959, NASA announced the first astronaut group, the Mercury 7.
In March 1960 the first cosmonauts were selected.
On April 12, 1961, the U.S.S.R. launched the first human into orbit, Yuri Gagarin, on Vostok 1.
On February 20, 1962, John Glenn, on Mercury-Atlas 6, became the first American in orbit.
Between June 16 and June 19, 1963, Valentina Tereshkova, on Vostok 6, became the first woman in space.
In August 1964 the Soviet government gave the go-ahead to two Moon programs, a flyby and a landing program.
On October 12, 1964, the U.S.S.R. launched the first multi-person spacecraft, Voskhod 1, with cosmonauts Vladimir Komarov, Konstantin Feoktistov, and Boris Yegorov.
On March 18, 1965, the first space walk was performed, by Aleksei Leonov on Voskhod 2.
On March 23, 1965, the U.S. launched the first multi-person U.S. spacecraft, Gemini 3, with Virgil Grissom and John Young.
On June 3, 1965, the first American space walk was completed by Ed White on Gemini 4.
On December 15, 1965, the U.S. conducted the first orbital rendezvous: Frank Borman and James Lovell on Gemini 7 with Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford on Gemini 6.
January 14, 1966, marked the death of premier Soviet spacecraft designer Sergei Korolev.
On March 16, 1966, the first docking in space took place. Neil Armstrong and David Scott on Gemini 8 docked with an Agena target.
On January 27, 1967, astronauts Virgil Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire during a launchpad test. The Apollo program was delayed for a year and a half.
https://www.britannica.com/story/timeline-of-the-space-race
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