Watch the 1st American Newsreel of Sputnik Launch

MMBK writes with this snippet from motherboard.tv: "Fifty three years ago this week, the Russians won the space race – or one of its laps – by successfully launching the Sputnik satellite into orbit. This newsreel, the first to report on the launch, recycles older animation about geosynchronic orbits, since all film footage was kept secret (note the very un-Soviet IBM logo on one of the massive computers)."

Comments

Respect

[BadAnalogyGuy]

I gotta admit begrudging admoration of the Russians for this one.

Re:Respect

[Anonymous Coward]

How about for the first living creature in space? Or the first man in space? Or the first woman in space? Or the first space walk? Or the series of Moon, Venus and Mars landers? Or the automated Moon sample return mission?

If you have a real grasp of the history of the Space Race, you need a lot more than a "begrudging admoration" for the Soviets.

Have you read "Space Race" By Deborah Cadbury? You should. Then you should add "War in 2080" to your list.

Re:Respect

[Pharmboy]

Because of that political contest we ended up with the pile of manure known as the shuttle program, and wont make it to the moon again for nearly a century after the last time we put foot on it. What a complete waste of resources.

Many would argue that going to the moon is a waste of resources, at least when it comes to sending humans. We have already been there and can send probes for a tiny fraction of the cost. Manned exploration is fine and dandy, but only in small doses if you want to get the best use of your resources. Same with Mars. Yes, we want to put a human up there and get them back, if for no other reason than "because it is there", but most of the really good science will happen with probes and rovers, not humans that have to sleep and eat half the day, using a majority of the resources to launch and maintain the craft simply to keep them alive.

Re:Respect

[sznupi]

Yeah, it's amazing what zombie Stalin could do to people for several years after his death.

Re:Respect

[sznupi]

The "space race" was some of the best work humankind has ever done, for all the worst reasons.

That's true on a much more fundamental level than you put.

In the case of Russians, for example:
Which rocket put Sputnik into orbit? One from R-7 lineage.
Which rocket put Yuri Gagarin into orbit? One from R-7 lineage.
Which rockets put Soyuz and Progress spacecraft, and many other payloads into orbit? ...yeah, from R-7 lineage.

What was the first operational ICBM? R-7 Semyorka. ...not even very good as an ICBM, not very practical. But turned out to be a fabulous launcher; it is "the most reliable ... the most frequently used launch vehicle in the world" (and that's coming from, basically, its competitor)

Re:Respect

[shutdown -p now]

It's pretty amazing to be able to do that kind of work knowing that Stalin will have your whole family killed if you don't succeed.

Stalin was long dead by the time the Sputnik was launched. What more, he was already dead by the time the Soviet space program was even kicked off (as the extension of ballistic missile program)!

Furthermore, it wasn't even something initiated "from above". It was Korolyov who convinced his superiors that non-military space program would be extremely beneficial for USSR prestige if it can be pulled off before US does it - and also that they could pull it off in time.

Re:Respect

[Kilobug]

USSR economy "failing so badly" is propaganda. USSR was far from perfect and had many problems, mostly political ones, but also some economical ones, but you can't said it "failed". Just look at https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/File:Soviet_Union_GDP.gif . GDP of USSR in 1990, just before the fall, was more than 3x the GDP of USSR in 1970, +200% in 20 years is a feat few countries can achieve. And it took very long for the capitalist Russian Federation to reach the level of the USSR.

USSR collapse was much more due to political reason and the "usual" collapse of a repressive regime than to economical reasons.

Its a good thing

[Pharmboy]

Actually, I have always thought that the Soviets getting a satellite into space first was a good thing, as an American of 45 years. It put the fear of ungod into the American military complex to get into space, which ended up netting more good science than simply building bigger and bigger bombs. It also created a huge demand for science, and boosted the desire of teenagers to enter the science field. Nothing like fear to motivate a country into investing into science.

Being raised during the cold war in a lifer military family might color my perspective, but a lot of good things came out of the cold war. One of them is the internet, which might have taken much longer to develop if not for the fear of Soviet ICBMs, reinforced by that humble little beeping satellite named Sputnik.

Re:Its a good thing

[Pharmboy]

Or more scary is the internet could have started as a purely commercial venture. Imagine if it had not existed, and AOL had created their own version of the internet. It is kind of what they were trying to do before the open internet kicked their butts. You would have several private nets (like in the 80s) and eventually, the big ones would buy out the small ones. You would have MUCH less content, as the price to enter the market with a website would be dictated by singular corporate interests. Most important is the fact that Free Software wouldn't be as far as it is now, with a more limited distribution method.

The only reason that the internet is as open as it is now is the US govt. was naive enough to not know what it could really be. Otherwise, they would have tried to control it more.

Re:Its a good thing

[Cwix]

No.. (cue scary music) Appletalk

Re:Its a good thing

[Anonymous Coward]

I have no way of knowing that the story I'm about to tell is true, so please take it with a grain of salt.

Supposedly, Eisenhower's goal was to have the Soviets make the first space flight to establish an international norm that overflying countries while in orbit was not a violation of territorial airspace. Once the Soviets had orbited a satellite over the US, they could hardly object to the US orbiting a satellite over them.

IBM computer in an American facility?

[Jeeeb]

After watching the video I don't think the IBM computer shown is meant to be in a Soviet facility. They talk about how the sound being played at the time is an actual signal from the Sputnik, which makes me think that it's meant to be an American signals interception facility. Maybe even with the IBM logo added to make that clear

Either that or they weren't immune to product placement in the 50's ;) Either way an awesome video.

Re:Wrong.

[Pharmboy]

Probes might do good science, but man alone inspires our kids to become scientists.

You lack imagination and underestimate children. To think that the only reason a child would want to enter science is because they saw a spaceman on the surface of mars is absurd. Most don't need to be manipulated, only pointed in the right direction. And not everyone in science gets to fly to the moon. Actually, most of the people who get to fly to the moon aren't scientists at all. Some people enter science out of the desire to be part of something bigger than themselves. Humans landing on the moon helps, but if you think that landing rovers that crawl all over the place for months sending back photos, and crashing probes into asteroids, and videoing comets explode over Jupiter isn't freaking cool, then yes, you lack imagination.

Re:The space race is not one you can win...

[Lanteran]

Yes it is. When space races happen, humanity wins.

Re:Have to ask this...

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

What's so different between putting a man and a woman in space? I could see the "first child conceived in space" or the "first birth in space", but why does the (astro|cosmo)naut's gender matter in this context?

I dare you to ask your mother, aunt, or grandmother that question.

Re:The space race is not one you can win...

[hairyfeet]

Hi MR AC! You want references I'll be happy to give them to you even though I'm not the original poster. Here you go. For those that don't want to TFL I'll summarize a few: The world's most accurate topographical maps thanks to sats, two little girls that wouldn't be alive thanks to severe UV allergies that were saved thanks to NASA designed suits, the LVAD artificial pump, based on the shuttle fuel pumps, the metal in your golf clubs, the suits worn by NASCAR to protect drivers from fire, there is quite a few there and the list is no means exclusive.

You can say what you will about NASA and the space race, but the research NASA has done and funded has seriously benefited us all. Oh and those flashdrives we all love? IIRC they were originally designed so sats could have non volatile memory that could take the G-forces and not be damaged. Considering I never go anywhere without my thumbdrive and flash MP3 player I have to say Yay NASA!

More entertaining film

[Eric Smith]

The Story of Sputnik

Re:Have to ask this...

[Sir_Lewk]

Are you attempting to imply that those individuals are more likely to give an emotional response, instead of a rational one?

You sexist pig.

Re:The space race is not one you can win...

[moonbender]

There's no question that the research done originally for the purposes of space exploration has benefited humanity in other areas. The question is whether the money spent on it would have resulted in greater good if spent elsewhere. The answer to that question is relevant to the decision where to spend the money in the present and future. Not that I'm saying the two situtations are the same, but: A country could decide to dig the world deepest hole, and that effort would probably result in a number of benefits and accomplishments (besides the hole): lower unemployment, interesting archeology, high durability shovels, redstone. It's still probably not the best investment.