October 4, 1957 was a landmark date for all of humanity. A small shiny ball with four antennas launched from Earth into space marked the beginning of the space age. For the Soviet Union - and it was launched precisely by Soviet scientists - this was not only a scientific victory. The confrontation between the USSR and the USA, called the Cold War, primarily affected space exploration. For many Americans, convinced by propaganda that the Soviet Union was a backward agrarian power, it was an unpleasant surprise that the first satellite was launched precisely by the Russians.
According to the precepts of Tsiolkovsky
The idea of space exploration belonged to the great Russian scientist K. E. Tsiolkovsky. And although he predicted the possibility of its implementation in no less than 100 years, but in reality it happened after 50, the path from concept to its implementation was very winding. The group of Friedrich Zander, an ethnic German, in which the young Korolev began his activities, initially took a different path: its founder suggested exploring space using a spaceship, rather than a rocket. And here G. Obert, the German "father of space", just shared the idea of Tsiolkovsky. He even corresponded with Konstantin Eduardovich for some time, namely, before Hitler came to power.
At the end of the war, Korolev, who led the Zander group after his death, was appointed head of the commission for the analysis of the missile legacy of the Third Reich. Parsing the drawings, he was convinced that Tsiolkovsky was still right, and further developments began to be based on German achievements in rocket science. So, the idea of one Russian scientist, having begun to be realized on German soil, was again returned to his homeland by other scientists after decades.
From the German V-2 to the Russian R-7
Having started the development of captured equipment, Korolev first launched an almost exact copy of the German V-2 rocket. However, she has already undergone significant improvements. The R-1 was equipped with a detachable warhead and had a flight range twice that of the V-2. The R-5 rocket has already become intercontinental. It is interesting that the idea of this device came to Korolyov’s head even before the release of the R-1 model. But the beginning of the cosmic era of mankind was laid by R-7. Her modification to this day is actively used in several versions of the Soyuz carrier. Then it was considered the simplest satellite - hence its name PS-1. Korolev decided not to wait for the development of a more complex device and launch a carrier with the minimum amount of technical stuffing into orbit.
Development of PS-1
The first condition of the chief designer S.P. Korolev was the presence of a radio transmitter continuously working on the satellite. It was not possible to realize it immediately. According to eyewitnesses, Korolev rejected many options for the shape of the satellite - cone-shaped, diamond-shaped, square - which caused bewilderment of colleagues, because in space there is no air resistance, and therefore, the form does not matter. But the chief designer strongly insisted that the satellite should be spherical. When the satellite was launched, colleagues were convinced of the correctness of a brilliant scientist - the satellite was a prototype of the man-made Earth in space.
The beginning of the space age and the role of scientists in it
Initially, the development was ordered by the military. The main condition for victory in the Cold War, they saw the construction of carriers for a nuclear bomb. On August 21, 1957, a military intercontinental missile was launched, after which a serious struggle broke out between scientists and the military. The military department insisted on continuing the defense program, and the people of Korolev suggested using these carriers to put the satellite into orbit. In the end, peaceful goals won, the then head of state, N. S. Khrushchev, put the last point in this confrontation. He received evidence that the Americans were ready to launch their satellite, and this was the decisive impetus that prompted him to lean toward the arguments of scientists.
The day the space age began
The beginning of the space age is October 4, 1957. It was then that from the Baikonur cosmodrome (this is its historical name, it was originally the Tyura-Tam training ground) the R-7 intercontinental rocket was sent on a space trip. It was she who was the carrier of the first artificial satellite PS-1. In addition to it, there was also a head fairing, which serves as protection against atmospheric friction at the start, and the second stage of the rocket is the central engine. Witnesses of this significant event saw it from Earth, since all other parts were simply indistinguishable due to their small size.
As often happens, the success of this significant event for all mankind hung in the balance. During the launch, there were problems, each of which could disrupt the flight. For example, at the 16th second after the separation from the Earth, the fuel supply system failed and an increased consumption of hot began. As a result, the central engine turned off one second ahead of schedule. In addition, one of the engines was “delayed,” and exceeding the time it took to enter the mode could cancel the satellite’s launch. Despite all these technical obstacles, the rocket was able to gain the first space speed of 7.8 km per second, but it did not reach about 90 km to the planned peak of the orbit. Scientists took these and many other faults into account during the next launches, and on October 4, 1957 today can be celebrated as the day the beginning of the cosmic era of mankind.
World resonance of a world-stunned event
The beginning of the space era, laid by Soviet scientists, could not hide any means of information warfare. Signals from orbit could catch all the hams of the world. This event was a loud and undeniable refutation of the statements of Western politicians about the scientific insolvency of the Soviet Union, which caused serious damage to the authority of the United States. For a long time, even before the launch of the satellite by the Russians, the American press actively suggested to its readers that the United States of America would soon send the first satellite into orbit. In fact, they only managed to do this on February 1, 1958, and its mass turned out to be 10 times less than the Russian pioneer. The fact that Soviet engineers occupied the podium before the Americans was a real shock for the latter.
Scientific data collected by the first satellite in space
What did people see and learn by deciphering a series of “beeps” received from PS-1? The device spent 92 days in orbit, burning up in the atmosphere on January 4 of next year. The satellite made 1,440 orbits around the Earth - and this is about 60 million km. The data collected by him helped scientists find out the features of the transmission of the radio signal through the upper atmosphere, the density of atmospheric residues at the appropriate height was clarified - it turned out to be higher than previously thought.
The consequences of orbital flight
The beginning of the space era has revolutionized astronomy. After the invention of the telescope by Galileo, this was the next important step in the development of the Universe. The so-called extra-atmospheric astronomy has arisen, scientists have discovered that interstellar space is penetrated by cosmic rays. Black holes and gamma-ray bursts were discovered only due to space research. The launch of telescopes into orbit made it possible to significantly improve their resolution and to see what was impossible to see from Earth. The boundaries of the universe in one fell swoop increased to incredible proportions, something that scientists could imply or assume was clearly confirmed.
Portal H-Cosmos.ru: the beginning of the space era in the laboratory
Today, schools are increasingly using such activities as presentations on topics covered. To do this, projectors, filmstrips, slides and other technical innovations are involved that help to display information on the screen, to make it literally visual. If your child’s diary contains the entry “conduct a study on the topic“ The Beginning of the Space Age ”, then it’s time to thoroughly prepare for such an event. The expanses of the Internet provide refuge to a huge amount of information, the main thing is to be able to choose a reliable and complete source. The H-Cosmos.ru portal will help you and your child prepare an interesting and comprehensive report. His concept is based on the idea that our entire biosphere is inextricably linked with outer space. There are also other sites related by the same concept in a single alliance with the H-Cosmos portal. The beginning of the cosmic era, through acquaintance with these sources, is again acquiring its true, significant meaning.
Our world is not limited to the reality surrounding us. Above us — so high above our heads, so high that it is not visible to the naked eye — there is a huge, breathing Universe, affecting our life, even if we do not directly notice it. The beginning of the cosmic era opened a “up” window in front of humanity, discovering the vast and unexplored open spaces. Nobody still knows whether life on Mars is possible, but this very assumption made our consciousness more susceptible to the most extraordinary discoveries of the future, and life more interesting and eventful. Take a look at the portal H-Cosmos.ru - the beginning of the space age will appear before you in all its greatness.