More on the space age.

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of Sputnik's historical launching into space.

There's a neat website, RussianSpaceWeb.com that has the complete details behind Sputnik, it's origins, it's mission, it's aftermath. The website belongs to Air & Space contributor Anatoly Zak.

To celebrate a half-century of spaceflight, check 50 Ways to Space Out.

Previously:
Space czar Sergei Korolev won fame for the launch of Sputnik, but a more modest genius deserves the credit.

Planet Earth

The space age began on the chill evening of October 4, 1957.

space race Sputnik Gagarin Soviet Union

Space czar Sergei Korolev won fame for the launch of Sputnik, but a more modest genius deserves the credit.

The Air & Space magazine has an informative article on the man behind Sputnik. Excerpt:

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, I have tried to reconstruct the life of Mikhail Tikhonravov, one of the most puzzling figures in the Soviet space program. Although few Westerners have heard of him, it is quite likely that without him, the Soviet Union would not have inaugurated the Space Age 50 years ago this October. Tikhonravov (pronounced “Tee-kun-RAFF-off”) had a hand in most of the critical events in the history of his country’s space program. He designed the first Soviet liquid-propellant rocket, he proposed the clustered-booster idea for the famous R-7 rocket, he oversaw the design of Yuri Gagarin’s Vostok rocket, and he supervised the development of the first Soviet moon probes. He even coined the word “cosmonaut.”

Previously: Planet Earth and The space age began on the chill evening of October 4, 1957.

Sputnik Soviet+Union Tikhonravov Gagarin cosmonaut space race to the moon

The space age began on the chill evening of October 4, 1957.

Sputnik, a 184-pound (83 kilograms) aluminum sphere tucked into the nose of a Soviet R-7 ballistic missile, streaked skyward from its launchpad near the edge of the Kyzyl Kum desert about a hundred miles (170 kilometers) east of the Aral Sea to become the first man-made object to orbit the Earth. An epoch of exploration and discovery as momentous as any in history had begun. Humans would go on to orbit the Earth, float in space, and—most spectacularly—set foot on the moon.

Go to The National Geographic Magazine to read a great article.

National Geographic space Sputnik shuttle moon

Planet Earth.

Fifty years ago this week, the Soviets launched Sputnik.

Sputnik space age racing to the moon