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Sputnik Ignited Era of Discovery

By Sophie Goldstein,  Newser User

Posted Oct 4, 2007 9:00 AM CDT

(Newser) – In an era when billionaire tourists book rides in spaceships, launching a basketball-sized satellite into outer space might seem mundane. But when the Russians put Sputnik into orbit 50 years ago today, it kicked off much more than a Cold War competition. It signalled the start of an electrifying era in which, says NPR commentator and then-wide-eyed kid Andrew Chaiken, "Every day, things that had been science fiction were turning into fact."

""There couldn't have been a better time to be a kid—amazing things were happening." And though the Cold War is long over, Chaiken argues, the space race launched by Sputnik is really about man's endless need to explore. "What began with Sputnik is just the opening chapter in a story that has no end. It's about the very essence of who we are—we are meant to make discoveries."

A model recreation of Sputnik-1 constructed by Nasa.
A model recreation of Sputnik-1 constructed by Nasa.   (Nasa.gov)
The Lovell Telescope at the Jodrell Bank Observatory points skyward on the 50th anniversary of the launch of the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik, which marked the dawn of the Space Age and sparked the race to land a man on the moon, in Macclesfield, England Thursday Oct. 4, 2007....
The Lovell Telescope at the Jodrell Bank Observatory points skyward on the 50th anniversary of the launch of the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik, which marked the dawn of the Space Age and...   (Associated Press)
A soldier stands on guard near a newly opened monument to Sputnik at the Russia's cosmonaut training center, Star City, outside of Moscow on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007. Engineers, military officials and former cosmonauts on Thursday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the launch of the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik,...
A soldier stands on guard near a newly opened monument to Sputnik at the Russia's cosmonaut training center, Star City, outside of Moscow on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007. Engineers, military officials and former...   (Associated Press)
Soldiers line up around newly opened monument to Sputnik at the Russia's cosmonaut training center, Star City, outside of Moscow on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007. Engineers, military officials and former cosmonauts on Thursday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the launch of the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik, which marked the...
Soldiers line up around newly opened monument to Sputnik at the Russia's cosmonaut training center, Star City, outside of Moscow on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007. Engineers, military officials and former cosmonauts...   (Associated Press)
Soviet Sputnik 1 Satellite
Soviet Sputnik 1 Satellite   (Archive Photos)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY NIKE COLEMAN(FILES) Picture dated 04...
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY NIKE COLEMAN(FILES) Picture dated 04...   (Getty Images)
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