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This precipitated the American Sputnik crisis and triggered the Space Race, part of the Cold War. The launch was the beginning of a new era of political, military, technological and scientific developments. The word sputnik is Russian for satellite when interpreted in an astronomical context; its other meanings are spouse or traveling companion.
In the Cold War environment of the late 1950s, this disparity of capability portended menacing implications. Even before the effects of Sputnik 1 had worn off, the Soviet Union struck again. On 3 November 1957, less than a month later, it launched Sputnik 2 carrying a dog, Laika.
The Cold War setting of Sputnik The backdrop to the story of Sputnik is the geopolitical landscape of the mid-twentieth century, a period dominated by the ideological, political, and military rivalry between the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union.
Nov 24, 2009 · The Soviet Union inaugurates the “Space Age” with its launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, on October 4, 1957. The spacecraft, named Sputnik after the Russian word for ...
It was also, in the cynical Cold War world of international intrigue between the United States and the Soviet Union, an opportunity to gather national security intelligence and engage in petty games of one-upmanship between the rivals.
Jul 10, 2019 · On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik-1, the world's first artificial satellite. Only about the size of a beach ball (22.8 inches or 58 cm. in diameter) and weighing 183.9 pounds (83.6 kg), it orbited the Earth in around 98 minutes.
Major episodes in the Space Race include the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, in October 1957 and the launch of first human into space, Yuri Gagarin, on 12 April 1961 by the Soviet Union.
