Fifty
years ago today, the world changed forever. What began as a science experiment,
quickly evolved into a political competition, and then drove humankind as far
as the Moon in less than 12 years.
Of course today, 50 years
on, it seems so simple. Several thousands of satellites later, when a private
company can launch a satellite into space, to say nothing of the 463 people who
have been there and back, a 23-inch, 184-pound beeping ball could almost be
overlooked. Almost.
The
Earth's first man-made moon remained in orbit for only 57 days but its
influence can still be felt 50 years later. The U.S. civilian space agency,
NASA, can credit its founding, three days shy of one year later, to the
political reaction to Sputnik 1. Sputnik's now familiar "be-beep, be-beep,
be-beep" was the original satellite radio. And the race heralded by those
beeps ultimately led to the cooperation experienced today on the International
Space Station.
Sputnik
1 was completely destroyed when it reentered the atmosphere on January 4, 1958.
What remains today are the handful of backup units, vintage and modern
replicas, and less tangible reminders of the now iconic quad-spiked sphere.
As a
tribute to the five decades of space exploration that it set into motion,
collectSPACE.com presents a countdown of the top ten Sputniks.
Visit collectSPACE.com to read
the entries in order or click on the following links to jump ahead in the countdown.
#10. World's Most
Popular Sputnik (Replica)
Where
else would you expect to find the world's most popular Sputnik than the world's
most popular museum? The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in
Washington, D.C., displays
a full-size Sputnik hanging in its Milestones of Flight Gallery near other
historic spacecraft.
#9. The Sputnik Sold To
Seattle
It was
cataloged as lot 241, titled simply as "Sputnik". Offered for auction
on May 9, 2001 by Christie's in New York, the nearly two-foot diameter silver
sphere with its four extending antennae stood out from the sale's other
artifacts, not just for its history but its size. It fetched $160,000 by the
auction's close.
#8. The Sputnik(s) You
Could Own
Though
the occasional authentic Sputnik has been sold, the six-figure sale price has kept
most of us Sputnik-less. Fortunately, there are numerous smaller Sputniks —
both in physical size and price tag — that means just about anyone can add a
little Sputnik to their personal space.
#7. The World's Sputnik
On March
2, 1962, just 10 days after making history as the first American in orbit, John
Glenn visited the United Nations in New York to attend a reception in his honor
and to address delegates from the then-newly formed Committee on Peaceful Uses
of Outer Space. According to the New York Times from that day, as he
was leaving, Glenn paused to point out to his wife Annie and their family a
model of Sputnik, hanging in the public lobby.
#6. Sputnik On The Silver
Screen
A man is seen running down
a Washington, D.C. hallway. Reaching a conference room, he excitedly bursts
open the door. "It's called Sputnik!" he exclaims in the cinematic
version of Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff."
#5. The
Newest Sputnik
Though
Sputnik 1 fell out of orbit long ago, its familiar silver sphere and four
antennae can still be seen around the globe. By some counts, there are nearly
as many Sputnik replicas on display in museums today as there have been years
since the original satellite was launched.
#4. The
Second Sputnik in Space
One
day shy of a month after Sputnik 1 made history as the world's first man-made
satellite, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2. This time, in addition to radio
transmitters like that of its predecessor, the satellite carried the first
animal into orbit, a dog named Laika. This is not the story of Sputnik 2, but
of a
second Sputnik launched 40 years to the day Laika left Earth.
#3. The
Astronaut Son's Secret Sputnik
Lord
British owns a real Sputnik. The ruler of Britannia, the fictional kingdom in
the Ultima series of computer games, is the alter ego of Richard
Garriott, the game's successful developer. Garriott, in real life, lives in
Brittania Manor, his custom designed 'castle' in Austin, Texas, which, as one
might expect, is adorned by the eclectic, from suits of armor to dinosaur
fossils to the real Soviet satellite.
#2. The
Next Best Sputnik
So where does one go to
see how Sputnik worked? Why Russia, of course. But not just anywhere in Russia;
to find the next best Sputnik to the real thing, you need to visit the museum
at the S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia outside of Moscow.
And the number one
Sputnik on collectSPACE.com's
Top Ten list is...
#1. The
Sputnik That Started It All
The Simplest Satellite,
PS-1, Sputnik-1, Prostreishiy Sputnik: whatever name you assign it, "it"
started the space age. Silver in color and about the size of a beach ball,
Sputnik orbited the Earth for almost two months. But does anything survive of
the world's first satellite today?
Copyright 2007 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
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