October 4th, 1957 saw the first successful launch of a satellite into space.
The (then) USSR lauched “Sputnik 1” becoming the first country entering the Space Age. Its characteristic “beep-beep” sound was heard by radio enthusiasts all over the world on approx. 20 MHz and 40 MHz. MOre information and a recording of the beeps can be found at the Wikipedia page concerning Sputnik 1 . (link at the bottom of the page)
One month later, on November 3rd, a second launch of Sputnik 2 with the first living being put in orbit. The dog Laika, unfortunately, had no way of returning alive to earth.
The first satellite launched by the US was Explorer 1 , on January 31st, 1958.
This marks the beginning of the “Space Race”, which continued through the 1960’s and 70’s.
The Space Age has had a lot of “ups and downs” , and I will come up with some highlights in later posts.
I wonder in the future if we will start to see Sputnik, and the moon landing as less of a national accomplishment, and more of a human being accomplishment?
There is *always* hope …
After all the ISS is an international effort – though the Chinese still need to be there …