The pioneering flight of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, 63 years ago this week had a deep resonance on Americans on the other side of the world from where the Soviet satellite launched. […]
History changed on Oct. 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik. The world’s first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball, about 23 inches diameter and weighing less than 190 pounds. […]
The history of the Sputnik 1 project dates back to Dec. 17, 1954, when Sergei Korolev addressed Dimitri Ustinov, the Minister of Defence Industries, proposing the development of an Earth-orbiting (artificial) satellite, forwarding a report by Mikhail Tikhonravov with an overview of similar projects abroad. […]
NASA could authorize commercial space companies to begin the process of repairing and refueling the fleet of aging satellites. […]
