enthalpy

Monday, October 01, 2007


Fifty years ago, the space-race got off to a flying start with a beeping chunk of aluminum in orbit. Now, we find out what the Soviets were really up to.
When Sputnik took off 50 years ago, the world gazed at the heavens in awe and apprehension, watching what seemed like the unveiling of a sustained Soviet effort to conquer space and score a stunning Cold War triumph.

But 50 years later, it emerges that the momentous launch was far from being part of a well-planned strategy to demonstrate communist superiority over the West. Instead, the first artificial satellite in space was a spur-of-the-moment gamble driven by the dream of one scientist, whose team scrounged a rocket, slapped together a satellite and persuaded a dubious Kremlin to open the space age.
Whatever the reason, it opened up a shot in the arm to technological development the country had never seen. But this statement was a bit odd:
"We wouldn't have been the first on the moon anyway," Grechko said. "We lost the race because our electronics industry was inferior."
Yet 50 years later, they still haven't learned.

Also, did you know that Sputnik was launched the same day as Leave it to Beaver? It's true!



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