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John Monthy of Tacoma, WA, asks:
It is often stated that Sputnik was simply an aluminum sphere weighing 184
pounds. 184 pounds seems considerable to me. What did it contain? Must have
been more than a simple transmitter giving off its intermittent beeps. Was
there no real technological surprises inside or was the real leap the rocket
engines, etc. the Russians had developed?
Dr. Keith Benson of the History of Science Society responds:
Although my reply should not be considered completely
authoritative, the real leap considered as such by the Americans was the
size of the rocket engines. In retrospect, the Russians were probably
aiming toward a capsule that would be large enough to contain an animal,
with hopes to send even larger spheres to contain a human. They achieved
both before the Americans did--in large measure because of their superior
rocketry.
Next: Why did the Russians beat America into space?
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