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On 4 October 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite: a polished metal ball 58 cm wide that sent out radio beeps anyone with a receiver could pick up. Its success shocked the United States and started the Space Race.

Soviet Union, 1957

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The story behind the card

Sputnik weighed 83.6 kg and circled Earth every 96 minutes. It was launched from Tyuratam in Soviet Kazakhstan, now the Baikonur Cosmodrome, on an R-7 rocket built under the chief designer Sergei Korolev. Radio amateurs around the world tracked its simple signal, and scientists used the way its orbit changed to measure the density of the upper atmosphere. The batteries ran out after 22 days, and on 4 January 1958, after about 1,440 orbits, the satellite burned up as it fell back into the atmosphere. In the United States the launch caused alarm that the Soviets were ahead in technology. America launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, on 31 January 1958 and created NASA later that year. In Russian, 'sputnik' means travelling companion as well as satellite.

Türkçe oku
Sovyetler Birliği, ilk yapay uydu Sputnik 1'i 4 Ekim 1957'de fırlattı. Parlak metalden yapılmış, 58 santimetre çapındaki bu küre, radyo alıcısı olan herkesin duyabileceği “bip” sinyalleri yayıyordu. Bu başarı ABD'yi sarstı ve Uzay Yarışı'nı başlattı.

Sputnik 83,6 kilogramdı ve Dünya'nın çevresini 96 dakikada bir dolanıyordu. Uydu, Sovyet Kazakistanı'ndaki Tyuratam'dan, yani bugünkü Baykonur Uzay Üssü'nden fırlatıldı; onu taşıyan R-7 roketi, baş tasarımcı Sergey Korolyov'un yönetiminde yapılmıştı. Dünyanın dört bir yanındaki amatör telsizciler uydunun basit sinyalini izledi; bilim insanları da yörüngesindeki değişimden atmosferin üst katmanlarının yoğunluğunu hesapladı. Pilleri 22 gün sonra bitti. Uydu, yaklaşık 1.440 tur attıktan sonra 4 Ocak 1958'de atmosfere geri girerken yandı. ABD'de fırlatış, Sovyetlerin teknolojide öne geçtiği kaygısını doğurdu. ABD ilk uydusu Explorer 1'i 31 Ocak 1958'de fırlattı ve aynı yıl NASA'yı kurdu. Rusçada “sputnik” hem uydu hem de yol arkadaşı anlamına gelir.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Sputnik 1
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