The USSR during its existence actively developed comic programs aimed at the development of extraterrestrial space. And the first step in this direction was the launch of the satellite - the first object sent into space. However, few people know that this unit has a rather rich history.

General information

In the second half of the 20th century, the USSR and the USA entered the space race, trying to start space exploration as quickly as possible. And the Soviet Union was the first to send an apparatus of its own production to Earth orbit. Such was the device, which has a fairly simple name “Sputnik-1”.

Interesting fact: in documents and drawings, the device was called PS-1, which stands for “Simple Satellite-1”.

The design of the device was quite simple. It was a sphere with antennas on its sides. The latter are necessary for the satellite to distribute the radio signal in space evenly.

The circle was assembled from two hemispheres, 36 bolts were used to fasten them. Such an amount allowed to reliably interlock parts, avoiding gaps. Inside PS-1 there were sensors that measure temperature and pressure, silver and zinc batteries, a thermostat, a radio transmitter and a fan, which are necessary for cooling the elements.

During the flight, this “filling” emitted a signal in the frequency range from 20 to 40 MHz, so that anyone, even an ordinary person, could tune into the wave of the device.

Despite the fact that now when talking about space flights, images of rockets and shuttles that strike with their dimensions immediately pop up in my head, Sputnik-1 was small even compared to humans. Its radius was only 29 cm, and its mass was approximately 83.5 kg.

Satellite Images

Even in 1687, when writing the work “The Mathematical Beginning of Natural Philosophy”, Newton suggested that a body can be launched into Earth’s orbit in such a way that it does not fall to the surface.

The scientist described the following experiment to achieve this result. First you need to climb a high mountain, the peak of which is much higher than the atmosphere. From it you need to shoot a gun so that the core flew parallel to the ground. And if the projectile moves at a certain speed, it will never sink to the surface, but will fly around the planet endlessly.

Later studies proved that Newton was right. If an object is launched into the Earth’s orbit so that it moves at a speed of at least 7.91 km / s, then it will endlessly rotate around the planet without losing altitude. Now this speed is called the “first cosmic”. In 1879, Jules Verne, when writing the book “500 Million Begumas,” used the prototype of the Newtonian gun.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, people gradually began to come to the conclusion that technology would soon reach a development that would allow it to go into space. Tsiolkovsky once argued that humanity is already ready for extraterrestrial travel. Moreover, the scientist suggested not conducting experimental launches, but immediately building a rocket in which people would fly. This will allow already in the first flight to receive truthful information from living eyewitnesses.

Later, the German engineer Obert introduced the world to the project, which is a station from several stages. It was proposed to launch into orbit with the aim of observing and coordinating the military forces. It was proposed to place a telescope on an extraterrestrial object that would allow us to observe planets and stars directly from space, and not through atmospheric distortions from the Earth.

Also, the theme of satellites was raised in some science fiction novels released in the 20s and 30s.In the first half of the 20th century, different countries conducted many experiments to launch objects into the Earth’s orbit, however, all built rockets developed at an insufficient speed.

Interesting fact: in 1944, the military Pokrovsky offered to shoot into the sky from a powerful gun. In his opinion, this will allow the remains of the core to be in orbit.

First attempts

Scientists of the Third Reich were able to develop high-volume rockets V-2, working on liquid fuel. It was believed that they were able to fly into space and even send a person into orbit. There are official documents that suggest using them to launch the embalmed bodies of the first space travelers in order to give honors.

Starting in March 1946, the United States Air Force began to work actively on the space program. The country was well aware that putting objects into the Earth’s orbit would help to get a lot of useful information, as well as seriously increase the authority of other states.

For several years, scientists on paper designed various devices that could potentially go into extraterrestrial space. At the same time, the consequences that the launch of space exploration could lead to were analyzed. The economic component, the military potential of the future achievement and possible prospects were painted in detail. As soon as it became clear that the device depicted in the drawing is not able to enter orbit, the design of a new one immediately began taking into account flaws.

In 1953, at a conference on astronautics, physicist Fred Singer presented the developments of a spherical satellite, which had real chances to go into space. According to the scientist, the United States is working on a spherical device that can be launched above the Earth in such a way that it will move in orbit at an altitude of 300 km and cross both poles of the planet.

In 1954, a meeting of leading American missile designers took place, which discussed the likelihood of a satellite launching in the next three years. At that moment, it was absolutely clear that for this it was necessary to use multi-stage missiles, which, as the previous ones were disconnected and the subsequent ones worked, would help to reach the desired height.

Interesting fact: the US arsenal then had Loki and Redstone rockets, which were supposed to be used to launch the first satellite.

The result of the meeting was the appearance of the Orbiter project, in the framework of which the details of the future space launch were studied. The event was scheduled for the summer of 1957. In 1955, the United States unveiled a project whose name was changed to “Vanguard”. It was assumed that this satellite will fly into the sky on the Viking and Aerobi missiles. On paper, the device was a complex structure weighing 10 kg. It was planned to equip the apparatus with a multitude of electronics for collecting information.

However, when it became known about the space program of the USSR, the United States significantly simplified the design of the satellite, if only to be the first to launch the object into space. So “Vanguard-1” lost weight six times, and its weight was 1.59 kg.

The history of the creation of the first artificial satellite

The history of the creation of the satellite began in the 1942th year. Then the German designer von Braun finished modeling the V-2 missiles. A few months later, the first launch took place, and by 1945, 3225 tests were carried out. It became clear that this missile can travel long distances.

After World War II, Von Braun began working for the US Department of Defense and was developing missiles that could put the first satellite into orbit. It was assumed that within five years an apparatus will be created that will help achieve this goal. But later the state refused to finance this project.

In 1946, Stalin created the USSR missile industry, for which Sergey Korolev was responsible.In the first half of the 50s, the Soviet Union had already developed R-1, R-2, and R-3 missiles capable of traveling long distances and hitting targets on neighboring continents. In 1948, the designer Tikhonravov demonstrated staged missiles that can take off up to 1000 km. With their help, he offered to deliver satellites to Earth orbit. But then he did not find support and was suspended from activity. However, two years later, with the recognition of the importance of space flight, the USSR again attracted Tikhonravov to work, and his main activity was the development of technologies for sending a satellite into orbit.

Model

The invention of the R-3 rocket and its capabilities made it clear that with its help the first satellite can be put into orbit. In 1953, the designers who worked on this project were able to finally convince the state that sending an artificial body into space is possible.

In 1954, Tikhonravov, along with his colleagues, began a thorough study of the USSR space program, the first stage of which consisted of launching a satellite into orbit.

Interesting fact: Tikhonravov was also instructed to plan a potential landing on the moon, which was supposed to take place after successful flights into space.

In 1955, Khrushchev personally arrived at the factory where the R-7 rocket was built. The result of his meeting was the signing of a decree under which designers must build a device that can enter the Earth’s orbit.

In November 1956, the design of the first satellite began, and after 10 months the constructed model was already tested in special conditions. Based on the experiments, it became clear that the device is ready for flight.

Satellite device

As mentioned above, the satellite body consisted of two hemispheres. They were cast from an alloy of aluminum and magnesium, the thickness was 2 mm. As connectors used bolts format M8 * 2.5. Inside, the structure was filled with nitrogen in a gaseous state, creating a pressure of 1.3 atmospheres. To avoid air penetration, a rubber lining was placed at the joints. To maintain the satellite temperature constant, it was equipped with an external millimeter-thick screen.

Interesting fact: To give the satellite optical properties, its surface was polished and machined. That is why the case is shiny.

To transmit a signal into the front hemisphere of the device, two antennas were mounted. The first was VHF type, the second - HF. Two pins, 2.4 and 2.9 m, respectively, came out to them. The divergence angle was 70 degrees. Springs are built into the antenna design, which helped them to open and take the right position after disconnecting the rocket.

The rear hemisphere of the satellite included a mechanism for disconnecting from the rocket, used when entering orbit.

Launch history

In February 1955, construction began on the Baikonur training ground in the desert of Kazakhstan, where it was planned to launch. After several tests, the engineers realized that the R-7 rocket needed a head part that could not withstand thermal loads, and also needed to be lightened as much as possible. In September 1957, an updated version of the R-7 was placed at the training ground, which was 7 tons lighter and had a satellite compartment in the head.

In early October, the rocket, along with the installed apparatus, was placed at the launching position. In parallel with this, an international congress of astronautics was held, in which scientists from 67 countries took part.

The launch of the satellite took place on October 4, 1957. The fact that the USSR was the first to put an artificial object into Earth’s orbit, said Academician Leonid Sedov, speaking to the public.

Flight history

The launch took place at 22:28:34 Moscow time. In 4 minutes 55 seconds, the rocket reached the desired height and entered orbit. And after 20 seconds, the satellite separated from the structure and began to transmit a fairly simple signal: “Beep!”.He went directly to the training ground for two minutes, until the device went into orbit of the Earth a long distance. For two weeks, the PS-1 through the transmitters broadcast various information until it failed.

Interesting fact: during the launch of a rocket in one of the engines, the fuel supply system worked with a delay, and he did not immediately begin work. According to estimates, if the engine turned on a second later, the R-7 could not enter orbit.

In the Earth’s orbit, PS-1 spent 92 days, making 1,440 revolutions. Due to atmospheric friction, he gradually lost speed and altitude, due to which at a certain moment he crashed down and burned in the upper layers.

Flight parameters

Flight PS-1 can be characterized by the following parameters:

• revolutions around the Earth - 1440;
• apogee - 947 km;
• Perigee - 228 km;
• time for a full revolution - 96 min 12 sec;
• the inclination of the orbit is 65.1 degrees;
• radius PS-1 - 29 cm;
• weight - 83.6 kg;
• flight date - from 10/04/1957 to 04/01/1958.

Flight value

The main goal of a satellite flight can be considered raising the prestige of the USSR on the world stage. The launch of the first object into space made a real sensation, especially against the backdrop of the United States, which also planned to send their own spacecraft. Only while the Americans publicly announced their plans, did the Soviet Union implement them without further ado. The press of many countries wrote about this article in the style of "some speak and others do."

The launch of the satellite marked the beginning of the space activities of people and began a real race between the USA and the USSR. In response, the States also launched their own Explorer-1 spacecraft into orbit. The satellite entered orbit on February 1, 1958 and was no longer of such interest as PS-1.

Satellite sounds

So that anyone can make sure the satellite is working, the designers configured it to continuously send signals. The electromechanical relay was responsible for this procedure, sending alternate signals at frequencies of 20 and 40 MHz with a duration of 0.3-0.4 seconds. The breaks between them equaled the same value.

The signal length depended directly on pressure and temperature sensors measuring these parameters inside the structure. Due to the invariability of the transmission periods, scientists could make sure that the PS-1 is working properly, tightness is maintained inside. Within two and a half weeks, the device sent several million signals, representing a simple “beep”.

For a reason, frequencies of 20 and 40 MHz were chosen for work. Most receivers of that time are capable of tuning in to them. Thanks to this, anyone could catch the satellite signal.

Almost immediately after entering orbit, the switching frequency began to increase. Within a few days, it was 40% higher than expected. Scientists still can not establish the exact cause of growth.

Scientific results of the flight of the first artificial satellite

The launch of PS-1 can be considered successful, since scientists were able to complete the tasks. The scientific results of the flight include:

• obtaining flight test data of the first satellite;
• the emergence of the possibility of studying the ionosphere, which reflects signals sent from the surface of the Earth;
• satellite friction against the atmosphere and a gradual decrease in speed helped to calculate the density of the upper atmosphere;
• the gradual failure of PS-1 helped to make subsequent vehicles less susceptible to the external effects of space.

While the satellite was in orbit, scientists conducted continuous tracking of its position and made all kinds of calculations. Moreover, active collection of information was conducted not only in the USSR. For example, scientists from the University of Sweden were able to significantly advance in the study of the structure of the ionosphere due to observation of satellite behavior. Since the Soviet Union specifically used signal transmission at accessible frequencies, scientists from all over the world could conduct joint activities and conduct experiments.

Launch reaction

The launch of the satellite made a big splash around the world. Moreover, if in most countries the reaction was positive, since everyone understood the opportunities that were opening up, in the USA this event caused exclusively negative. In the 50s, the States were firmly convinced that they were leaders in the cosmic issue, especially after mastering the Third Reich drawings containing data on advanced ballistic missiles.

But when the USSR sent the satellite first, it became a real shock for the United States, because they considered themselves the masters of outer space. They were also sure that they would be the first to conquer it.

Interesting fact: at the very first Pentagon meeting after the launch of PS-1, some US military suggested sending tons of garbage into space to cover the Earth’s atmosphere and make further flights impossible.

But it should be noted that the advance of the USSR in this race gave the United States a huge incentive. The best American designers began to study the future space program. Thanks to this, the States not only made up for the achievements of the Soviet Union, but also landed on the moon. Perhaps if they were the first to launch the satellite, this would diminish their ardor, and then a “small step for man and a giant leap for mankind” would never have taken place.

Reviews from the foreign press

The press around the world wrote about the launch of the satellite. The scientist Beniamino Segre publicly expressed admiration for the breakthrough of the USSR, because he saw this as new prospects and opportunities. The New York Times wrote that only a country with advanced technology could begin space exploration.

Designer German Obert from Germany expressed his respect to Soviet scientists. In his opinion, only the best minds, which undoubtedly were in the USSR, could send an object into orbit. Joliot-Curie, a Nobel laureate, claimed that now man is no longer attached to the Earth.

For a long time, the world press did not stop writing about this event and praising the achievement of the USSR.