IGY Bulletin, Number 5, November 1957 - Preliminary summary of USSR satellite reports

We move on to issue #5 of the IGY Bulletin, from November, 1957. A pdf of this issue, downloaded from the Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, can be found here. This 16-page issue consists of the following articles:

1. Preliminary summary of USSR satellite reports
2. Airglow measurements during the IGY
3. South Pole winter weather review
4. Preliminary report on rockoon firings in the Arctic
5. The special World Day Program for the IGY
6. CSAGI rocket and satellite conference

In this post, I will review #1. There is some overlap with my previous post about the anniversary of the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. It was successfully placed into orbit by the Soviet Union on Oct. 4, 1957, so that was reported in the IGY Bulletin published in the succeeding month. 

Launch

Radio Moscow made the official announcement of the launch, which took place from a point north of the Caspian Sea. The three-stage rocket used reached a maximum velocity of 18,000 mph. 

Here is a Russian video clip of the launch:

Satellite characteristics

Sputnik 1 was a polished solid sphere weighing 180 pounds, almost two feet in diameter. The four antenna, 8-10 feet long, were folded back upon launch and sprang into position upon ejection from the third stage of the rocket.

Instrumentation

There were two transmitters on the satellite operating at different frequencies that could be received by shortwave radios, so amateur radio buffs around the world tuned in to listen as the satellite passed. The pulse of each signal was 0.3 seconds long, followed by a pause of similar length during which the other transmitter sounded. The power of the transmissions were one watt. AM radio stations in the U.S. today are authorized to operate up to 50,000 watts. WITF, my local NPR station, operates at 5,900 watts. The Sputnik signal died after three weeks in orbit.

Observations

The first U.S. reception of Sputnik's satellite was reported by RCA Communications. (I got stock in RCA for my bar mitzvah in 1963, and held onto it until RCA was acquired by General Electric in 1985.) It was picked up by the Naval Research Laboratory shortly afterwards. By Oct. 6, six out of the NRL's ten Minitrack stations were tuned to Sputnik's transmission frequencies to facilitate radio tracking of the satellite.

Visual observations were also made of the satellite and its co-orbiting rocket.

Orbit

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory announced a precise determination of Sputnik's orbit on Oct. 11. The apogee and perigee were 583 and 143 miles above the Earth's surface, respectively. The period of the orbit was about 96 minutes, and it precessed in a retrograde direction (moving westwards in successive orbits) at about 3° per day, as shown in the figure below.

U.S. Naval Research Lab prediction of Sputnik orbit, times for 40°N (from IGY Bulletin article)

Here is a nice web site that presents several historic articles on Sputnik 1 that appeared in the New York Times in early October, 1957.

When I bought the Sputnik book by Paul Dickson, it was really just a bonus for buying Dickson's collection of space pins, some from the U.S. but most from the Soviet Union. Below are the pins showing Sputnik 1 with its fins that are dated as 1957 (rather than to anniversaries), with two showing the launch date of Oct. 4.

Sputnik 1 pins from my collection. Each is about 1/2" across.