Comments on 50 Years Ago Today...

Love the product placement by IBM.

what ever happened to sputnik? did it eventually burn up in the atmosphere or did it come crashing down somewhere?

Triumph of the Communist State. See? Proof that communism worked. The People's Satellite.

According to some, THAT'S the kind of government we need in Seattle.

All news shows should look like that

Elephant's arms display delicate flamboyant pose.

Sputnik:
-Oct 4, '57 Launched into orbit
-Oct 25, '57 Radio transmissions cease as electric batteries wear out.
-Jan 4, '59 Enters the Earth atmosphere as a result of natural decay of the orbit through air drag, and is destroyed by frictional heating

Douglas:

Sputnik 1 de-orbited in early January 1958, due to atmospheric drag, and burnt up in the atmosphere upon re-entry.

Another interesting tid-bit: Many people recall "seeing" the satellite orbiting the earth in the night sky; what they really saw was the spent 3rd stage booster of the R-7 ICBM that launched Sputnik into orbit, as the satellite itself was too small to reflect enough light to be seen by the naked eye.

Yes, 1958.

Sputnik only made a few orbits of the planet then burned up like a week or so later while reentering the atmosphere.

What a wonderful piece of entertainment! The animation, the science, the voice, the music, the brevity. Beautiful.