The Space Race Begins!

Today is the 60th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, but the first use of the word satellite to indicate a man-made object was 1936, over twenty years before the Russians actually created a viable satellite with their launch on October 4, 1957.

The word Sputnik-(in Russian Cпутник-1-anticipating more satellites, the Russians already called it Sputnik 1) is the combination of the Russian preposition c- (the s- sound, when added to the beginning of a Russian word means with) and the Old Church Slavonic root word poti meaning aroad, way or journey, ultimately meaning a traveling companion. Sputnik 1 broadcast its simple radio signal for 22 days before falling silent in at the end of October, 1957. Roughly 2 feet in diameter and weighing almost 200 pounds, Sputnik launched Russia to the forefront of the space race. Even most Russians, though, were unaware of the significance of the event-the ‘headline’ event in Pravda (see image above) did not hit the front page of the newspaper until October 6, although it made the front page of the New York Times on October 5!

Who won the Space Race?  Depends on when it began, but it also depends on where the race is now and where it will end.  When the Space Race was at its height, no one could have imagined a day when a continously manned Space Station would be jointly run by the United States and Russia with a consortium of nations contributing.  We are all winning the Space Race!