October 4th
I'll probably get up before most of my friends tomorrow, bundle up, fumble through my apartment in the dark (hopefully without waking my partner Gail), and go outside to keep an appointment. If the sky's clear, a bright blob of light will make its' way from south-southwest to south-southeast. It's not supposed to rise more than 15 degrees above the horizon, and after this pass it won't be visible for some days. It's the International Space Station, that sole active remnant of our manned space efforts. And tomorrow marks the 55th anniversary of Sputnik I's launch into Earth orbit.
Maybe it's eccentricity on my part to pay attention to such an occasion in this tangible way. My neighbors look quizzically at me when I tell them why I'm out at such hours and what I'm watching. Clearly it's not a priority with them---I can handle that. But I can recall with some clarity just what a dividing line that day was, for this country and for the entire world. There's a swarm of satellites in orbit which support our modern electronic infrastructure---55 years ago there was only a 184-pound sphere with four trailing antennas, a largish battery, a fairly powerful radio transmitter tuned to an easily-accessible frequency, and a simple 'beeper'. That was all. But, of course, it was quite enough. The successful launch was a huge propaganda coup for Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's government---but the precedent of Sputnik I meant that American space vehicles could overfly Soviet territory without setting off nasty international consequences. That was what had kept President Eisenhower from committing to launching orbiting satellites BEFORE Sputnik I's launch. Door opened.
Maybe it's eccentricity on my part to pay attention to such an occasion in this tangible way. My neighbors look quizzically at me when I tell them why I'm out at such hours and what I'm watching. Clearly it's not a priority with them---I can handle that. But I can recall with some clarity just what a dividing line that day was, for this country and for the entire world. There's a swarm of satellites in orbit which support our modern electronic infrastructure---55 years ago there was only a 184-pound sphere with four trailing antennas, a largish battery, a fairly powerful radio transmitter tuned to an easily-accessible frequency, and a simple 'beeper'. That was all. But, of course, it was quite enough. The successful launch was a huge propaganda coup for Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's government---but the precedent of Sputnik I meant that American space vehicles could overfly Soviet territory without setting off nasty international consequences. That was what had kept President Eisenhower from committing to launching orbiting satellites BEFORE Sputnik I's launch. Door opened.