Sputnik 1 was twenty three inches in diameter

Yuri Gagarin died in an airplane crash.

by Austin G.

Sputnik I
NASA

     On May 25, 1961, the President of the United States John F. Kennedy, wanted to send American astronauts to the moon, but the Russians were also planning to go to the moon which created the race to space. The two countries competed to be the first one in space.

     Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite in 1957. It was 23 inches in diameter and was made of highly polished aluminum. It orbited the earth for 90 minutes for two months., it used radio signals to gather information about the earths ionosphere, until it fell from orbit and burned up.

One of the astronauts was Yuri Gagarin. He was born March 9, 1934 in Klushino, U.S.S.R. He died in an airplane crash on March 27, 1968 in Kirzack, U.S.S.R. He was a space pilot; his rank was a Soviet Air Force Colonel. One of his missions was Vostok 1, this mission made him the first person to orbit the Earth. His time in space on the mission was one hour and forty-eight minutes.

The space race was like a baseball game and the USSR started the game. USSR hit a double sending the first satellite and human into space, but the U.S.A. hit a home run to win the game by sending the first person to the moon.

For more information:
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal114/spacerace/sec300/
sec300.htm
http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/

BACK

Ms. Garrido's Class  |  Mrs. Lebenson's Class
Pocantico Hills School