Jun 06

Space Rocket History #15 – Sputnik 3 & Luna 1

The launch vehicle for the Luna E-1 series was a modified R7 named Vostok.  The Vostok had three stages.  The first and second stage were the standard R-7 which we covered in Episode 9.  A 5.1 meter long by 2.4 meter diameter third stage was added to the top of the R-7.  The third stage weighed 1472 kg and was capable of delivering 54.5 kiloNewtons or 12,252 lbs of thrust.  This was the probes booster stage that gave it enough speed to escape Earth’s gravity.

800px-Спутник-3

Sputnik 3

R-7_(7A)_misil.svg

R-7

Luna_1_1

Luna 1

Vostok - 8K72K

Vostok

May 30

Space Rocket History #14 – US Space 1958 – Explorer, Vanguard, Pioneer, and NASA

In late March, 1958, President Eisenhower publicly announced the United States’ intention to launch a spacecraft to the Moon.  He assured the nation that  this was not science fiction.  It was an achievable goal presented by leading scientists.  The announcement came less than 2 months after the first US satellite had reached orbit.  The President was committing the nation to a space race to the moon with the Soviets.  If all went well the country would have a spacecraft in orbit around the moon before the summer was over.

Vanguard_1

Vanguard 1 Satellite

Vanguard 1

Vanguard 1

Pioneer_I_on_the_Launch_Pad_-_GPN-2002-000204

Pioneer 1 on the Launch Pad

Pioneer Satellite Replica

Pioneers 0-2 Satellite Replica

 

753px-Pioneer_3

Pioneer 3

May 23

Space Rocket History #13 – Explorer 1 – Juno 1

At approximately 12:48 a.m. EST, the first listening stations began reporting that they had received radio signals from the “Explorer” satellite. The first station to confirm the signals was the San Gabriel Valley Amateur Radio Club near Pasadena, California.  However, ABMA officials were waiting for confirmation from the Goldstone radio tracking station in Earthquake Valley, California.  Finally, 1 hour and 57 minutes after launch the confirmation was finally relayed to ABMA officials in the form of the simple phrase, “Goldstone has the bird!”

exlaunch1958

Explorer 1 – Jupiter C Launch

exlaunch

On the Pad

ex

Pre-Launch

ex1

Explorer 1 Satellite

 

206689main_van-allen-516

Van Allen

206623main_pickering-273

Pickering

206615main_medaris-516 (1)

Medaris

206619main_pic-516

Explorer 1 Satellite

207199main_conference-516

Pickering, Van Allen, Von Braun Holding Satellite

206607main_launch-516 206601main_explorer-stand-516

May 09

Space Rocket History #11 – Sputnik 2 – Laika: The Space Dog

Sputnik 2 was the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit and was the first to launch a living creature. The satellite was a 4 meter high cone-shaped capsule with a base diameter of 2 meters. It contained several compartments for radio transmitters, a telemetry system, a programming unit, a regeneration and temperature control system for the cabin, and scientific instruments. A separate sealed cabin contained the first space passenger Laika, the space dog. Engineering and biological data were transmitted by the telemetry system to Earth for 15 minutes of each 103 minute orbit.  Two spectrophotometers were on board for measuring solar radiation and cosmic rays. A television camera was mounted in the passenger compartment to observe Laika.

Laika Stamp Laika Laika-Sputnik-2 sputnik-2 sputnik2_design_1 Sputnik2_vsm


Laika, 1957 from KC Giessen on Vimeo.