Sputnik 1 Wikipedia

On 17 December 1954, chief Soviet rocket scientist Sergei Korolev proposed a developmental plan for an artificial satellite to the Minister of the Defense Industry, Dimitri Ustinov. On 4 January 1958, after three months in orbit, Sputnik 1 burned up while reentering Earth’s atmosphere, having completed 1,440 orbits of the Earth, and travelling a distance of approximately 70,000,000 km (43,000,000 mi). The signals continued for 22 days until the transmitter batteries depleted on 26 October 1957. The satellite travelled at a peak speed of about 8 km/s (18,000 mph), taking 96.20 minutes to complete each orbit.

A special reconnaissance commission selected Tyuratam for the construction of a rocket proving ground, the 5th Tyuratam range, usually referred to as “NIIP-5”, or “GIK-5” in the post-Soviet time. More complex calculations were carried out on a newly-installed computer at the Academy of Sciences. At the time, the R-7 was known to NATO sources as the T-3 or M-104, and Type A. This version allowed the satellite to be tracked visually by Earth-based observers, and it could transmit tracking signals to ground-based receiving stations. Because of the limited time frame, observations were planned for only 7 to 10 days and orbit calculations were not expected to be extremely accurate.

(A year later, however, that figure had thunder empire pokie dropped to 10% as the U.S. began launching its own satellites into space.) After the launch of Sputnik, a poll conducted and published by the University of Michigan showed that 26% of Americans surveyed thought that Russian sciences and engineering were superior to that of the United States. With a sense of urgency, Congress enacted the 1958 National Defense Education Act, which provided low-interest loans for college tuition to students majoring in mathematics and science. Sputnik also contributed directly to a new emphasis on science and technology in American schools.