Sergei Korolev - Space Program

Space Program

In spite of the Soviet progress on ICBM technology, Korolev was preoccupied with the use of rockets for space travel. In 1953 he first proposed the use of the R-7 design for launching a satellite into orbit. He pushed his ideas with the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, including a concept for sending a dog into space. He also had to overcome resistance in the military and among party members.

In 1957, during the International Geophysical Year, the concept of launching a satellite began to appear in the American press. The US government was not well disposed toward the idea of spending millions of dollars on this concept, and so it was effectively frozen for a period. However, Korolev's group followed the Western press, and they thought it was possible to beat the US to the punch. He was finally able to win over support because of competition with the United States by suggesting that the USSR should try to be the first country to launch a satellite.

The actual development of Sputnik was performed in less than a month. This was a very simple design, consisting of little more than a polished metal sphere, a transmitter, thermal measuring instruments, and batteries. Korolev personally managed the assembly, and the work was very hectic. Finally on 4 October 1957, launched on a rocket that had only successfully launched once, the satellite was placed in orbit.

The effect of this launch was electric, and produced many political ramifications for the future. Nikita Khrushchev was pleased with this success, and decided that it should be followed up by a new achievement in time for the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution. This was less than a month away, on 3 November. The result was Sputnik 2.

This new spacecraft would have six times the mass of the Sputnik 1, and would include as a payload the dog Laika. The entire vehicle was designed from scratch within four weeks, with no time for testing or quality checks. It was successfully launched on 3 November and the dog was placed in orbit. There was no mechanism designed in this vehicle to bring the dog back to earth and so she died after roughly 6 hours in space succumbing to heat exhaustion.

This string of successes ran out with the launch of Sputnik 3. This instrument-laden spacecraft was sent into orbit on 15 May the following year. However, the tape recorder that was to store the data failed after launch. As a result, the discovery and mapping of the Van Allen radiation belts were left to the United States' Explorer 4 in July. What Sputnik 3 did do, however, was to leave little doubt with the American government about the Soviets' pending ICBM capability.