A Day in Astronomy: Launch of Sputnik

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Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of the orbiting Sputnik 1. (thegravitywell.org/)

On this day in 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, humanity’s first artificial satellite, setting of a space race that continues to this day. The U.S. National Archives has a copy of minutes from an October 9 meeting between President Eisenhower and his advisors to discuss Sputnik I. The text accompanying the minutes demonstrates the shock this event caused:

At first, some in the Eisenhower administration downplayed the satellite as a “useless hunk of iron.” As David Halberstam wrote in The Fifties, “The success of Sputnik seemed to herald a kind of technological Pearl Harbor, which was exactly what Edward Teller said it was.” Others in America and around the world saw Sputnik as an ominous leap ahead in prestige and military ability, whether or not the new missiles could actually hit a target with nuclear weapons. President Eisenhower and some of his advisors, when they realized the significance of the Soviet achievement, met to discuss the alarming developments.

Of course, Russia is more of a wounded bear at the moment while China tries to take the lead in the latest space race. This is not to diminish what the Soviet Union accomplished in the last century, nor what Russia can accomplish tomorrow if it put its energy into science rather than war.

RIP: Cosmonaut Valery Vladimirovich Polyakov

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Image (Credit): Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov. (NASA)

Last week cosmonaut Valery Polyakov passed away at the age of 80 (1942 to 2022). He still holds the record for the longest single spaceflight in history when he was aboard the Mir space station for 437 days and 18 hours during one stay between 1994 and 1995. By the time he retired later in 1995, he had spent 678 days in space.

Russians have a history of long tours in space, including four cosmonauts from the last century who spent at least one year in a single tour:

  • Valery Polyakov – 437 days aboard Mir (1994-95)
  • Sergei Avdeyev – 379 days aboard Mir (1998-99)
  • Vladimir Titov – 365 days aboard Mir (1987-88)
  • Musa Manaro – 365 days aboard Mir (1987-88)

When U.S. astronaut Astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth with cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko from the International Space Station in 2016 after 340 days in space, the Russians were not so impressed according to a story in arsTECHNICA. The story notes cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev, serving as the head of the Kazakh space agency, stated, “Congratulations on your record. Of course it was already done 28 years ago.” 

Image (Credit): The Soviet Mir space station. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Soyuz Launch to Space Station a Success

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Image (Credit): The Soyuz MS-22 rocket launch from earlier today. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Earlier today, the Russian Soyuz MS-22 rocket launched from Kazakhstan and successfully placed three new inhabitants on the International Space Station (ISS): NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin. The three will stay on the ISS for the next six month, while three cosmonauts will be returning to Earth next week after completing their own six month tours.

Even with all of the Russian posturing back on the surface, it is great to see the ISS team is remaining above the fray. That is, if you ignore the flag-waving antics of the three returning cosmonauts. Sorry, I could not leave it alone.

More Space Travel Offers from China and NASA

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Image (Credit): Artist’s impression of the Chinese Space Station. (China Manned Space Program)

The China Global Television Network recently reported that China is looking into offering space rides to commercial passengers by 2025, including suborbital flights, cargo flights, and trips to Chinese Space Station. For instance, suborbital flights are expected to be priced at 2 and 3 million yuan (or $287,200 to $430,800).

Given the growing U.S. space industry with its own range of space flight options, it was only a matter of time that China would enter this commercial space race. Russia has been in the game the longest, having sold seats to U.S. astronauts hoping to reach the International Space Station (ISS) following the demise of the space shuttle.

Not to be outdone, NASA has also announced plans to take commercial passengers to the ISS at $55 million per seat. According to Tech Times, NASA is seeking commercial partners for two such flights per year starting as early as 2023. We have already discussed the Axiom Mission 1 (or AX-1 mission) to the ISS earlier this year at about the same price, so this is not a new idea. I guess the Axiom Mission 1 went well enough for NASA to see this as a regular operation.

A variety of space travel options from a variety of countries and commercial suppliers shows that playing in space can be both fun and profitable. Just ask Captain Kirk.

That is fine, as long as the tourists do not get in the way of the real work that is being conducted. With the taxpayers still footing most of the space-faring bill, we do not want space travel to be seen as only a luxury for the wealthy (similar to electric vehicles in the U.S., up to now). Space and related space travel should be seen as something belonging to everyone.

Space Quote: A Return to the Space Race

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Image (Credit): Image from the earlier Space Race between the US and Soviet Union. (The Independent)

“Space will be the next great commons, a shared global resource like the oceans or cyberspace. History shows that these great commons are inevitably a source of competition and conflict, not voluntary cooperation. Whoever dominates space will determine the future of nations. We have to abandon the globalist fantasy that the U.S., China, and Russia will work together to keep space rules-based, free and open.”

-Arthur Herman, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, in The Wall Street Journal editorial titled “How to Beat China in the New Space Race.” Mr. Herman is also author of To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World.