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Soviets' 'Moon' Circling Globe At Terrific Speed

MOSCOW (AP)- The Soviet launched the earth's first man-made satellite 560 mile out in space and it now is circling the globe at tremendous speed.

The dramatic claim that Russia had beaten the United States in the satellite race came in announcement saying the artificial moon was launched yesterday by multiple-stage rockets. The site of the launching was not given

The instrument-laden globe was described as 23 inches in diameter and weighing 185 pounds. The announced weight is about nine times that of a projected 22-inch U.S. earth satellite.

An announcement by the official agency Tass said the moon was circling the globe every hour and 35 minutes. It transmits radio signals back to the earth as it hurtles along.

The launching came just three months and four days after the opening of the International Geophysical Year (IGY), a concerted program by the world's scientists to learn more of the earth's secrets.

Tass said the moon can be observed by simple optical instruments in the evening or early morning. Soviet scientists tracked the tiny satellite by radar and radio.

The man-made moon carries no propellant. The thrust of the last rocket sends it speeding off at about 18,000 miles an hour. This speed is sufficient to offset the pull of gravity. It thus keeps circling the earth just like the real moon does.

(The Defense Department in Washington said naval researchers Friday recorded three passes of the Soviet satellite over the United States, one in the vicinity of Washington. Radio signals were picked up from the satellite elsewhere in the United States, Britain and Canada.)

The orbit of the man-made moon was not given. Soviet scientists said previously they expected to launch a satellite on a north-south path around the earth.

"The successful launching of the first man-made satellite makes a tremendous contribution to the treasure house of world science and culture," the Tass announcement said.

"Artificial earth satellites will pave the way for space travel and it seems that the present generation will witness how the freed and conscious labor of the people of the new socialist society turns into reality the most bold dreams of mankind."

The announcement, coming close on the claim Aug. 26 that the Soviet Union had successfully tested the first intercontinental ballistics missile, is expected to have an impact both in the Soviet Union and abroad.

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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This article in the Greenfield Recorder reports the Soviet launch of the first man-made satellite. The "moon" was called Sputnik, a Russian word for satellite or literally "Co-Pather." The launch was a dramatic event in the history of the cold war, signaling that the Soviet Union had beaten the United States in the "race" to outer space, The event came soon after a Soviet test of a long-range nuclear missile capable of hitting the United States. Americans were frightened but also fascinated by Sputnik. They watched its reflection in the night sky and heard its beeping sound on the radio. The belief that the Soviets were ahead of the United States in missile technology led to a dramatic expansion of scientific research and funding for public education in the United States.

 

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"Soviets' 'Moon' Circling Globe at Terrific Speed" article from Greenfield Recorder-Gazette newspaper

publisher   Greenfield Recorder-Gazette
date   Oct 5, 1957
location   Greenfield, Massachusetts
height   9.25"
width   4.25"
process/materials   printed paper, ink
item type   Periodicals/Newspaper
accession #   #L08.017


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See Also...

"Don't Tread On Us" editorial in The Greenfield Recorder-Gazette newspaper

"Russian Émigré Revolutionizes World's Photo Enlarging Process" article from Greenfield Recorder-Gazette newspaper

Pages on Communism from "The Challenge to Liberty"


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