|
|
Sputnik Declassified
|
|
|
|
Viewing Ideas
|
|
|
Before Watching
Have students create a time
line. To help students understand the
historical context in which Sputnik was launched, have them make a time line
that includes political events on the top of the time line and space
exploration events on the bottom part of the time line. Have each group
summarize on a 5 x 8-inch file card what the event was and why it was
important. Produce a time line (a string 7 meters long) that starts at 1900 and
ends at 1970. Have student groups attach their cards at the appropriate place
on the time line and have each read their card descriptions to the class.
|
Socio-Political Events
|
Space Exploration Events
|
World War I (1914–1918) World War II (1939–1945) Cold War (1940s–1990s) U.S. detonates first atomic bomb in New Mexico
(1945) First Soviet atomic bomb detonated (1949) First hydrogen device tested (1951) International Council of
Scientific Unions calls for artificial satellites to be launched in
International Geophysical Year (1957–58)
|
Orville and Wilbur Wright make first power-driven
flight (1903) Robert Goddard creates the first working
liquid-fuel rocket (1926) First ballistic missile, V-2, launched (1942) Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier in the Bell
XS-1 (1947) X-15 becomes first
winged aircraft to attain velocities of Mach 4, 5, and 6 (circa 1957) WAC Corporal
rocket becomes first U.S. missile to penetrate
outer space (1949) X1A achieves record altitude of 90,440 feet (1954) Sputnik 1
launches (1957) Explorer 1 launches (1958)
|
Create a scale drawing of
Earth's atmosphere. Sputnik 1 was
the first of many satellites launched into orbit around Earth. Ask students how
many artificial satellites are orbiting Earth now? (Scientists estimate that
there are more than 3,000 working satellites, and at least 6,000 non-working
[space junk] satellites.) Show an image of Earth's atmosphere
taken from space and point out how thin Earth's atmosphere is compared to
the diameter of the planet (see Links and Books for a link to a photo). To
launch a satellite successfully, a rocket needs to lift the weight of the
satellite above as much of the atmosphere as possible so that air friction will
not slow the satellite appreciably and bring it crashing back to Earth. On a
piece of plain white paper, have students plot the layers of the atmosphere to
scale and show the average orbital distance of the Space Shuttle and Sputnik.
Use a scale of 1 millimeter = 3 kilometers. Have students draw a line about 2
centimeters from the bottom of the paper to represent the surface of Earth.
Here are some average data points to plot:
Troposphere: 0 to 9 kilometers Stratosphere: 9 to 50 kilometers Mesosphere: 50 to 85 kilometers Thermosphere: 85 kilometers to 640 kilometers Exosphere: 640 kilometers to 9,000 kilometers (Students won't be able to
plot the entire extent of this on an 8.5- x 11-inch piece of paper. Tell them
they can just draw an arrow pointing up.)
After the layers are plotted, have
students place the following on the diagram.
At 16
kilometers, place "90 percent of atmosphere by mass is below this altitude" At 100
kilometers, place "99.99997 percent of atmosphere by mass is below this
altitude" At 250
kilometers, place "Sputnik 1" At 330
kilometers, place "International Space Station"
After their scale drawings are
completed, ask students what the technical difficulties may be of launching a
rocket and satellite to place it in orbit around Earth? (Students may list
variables like weight of the payload [satellite], overcoming Earth's
gravitational force, using enough fuel to get the satellite into orbit, and air
friction.) If they do not mention it, tell
students that Earth's rotation must also be taken into account. Since
Earth rotates at a rate of 1,000 miles per hour near the equator, U.S.
launching sites like the Kennedy Space Center launch rockets with their
satellites in an easterly direction to take advantage of rotational speed
instead of going against it. Many satellites are launched in polar orbits
(south to north) so they can essentially see the entire Earth in a prescribed
number of orbits. Discuss the implications of
Sputnik's launching. Sputnik, the
world's first artificial satellite, was launched October 4, 1957. About
the size of a beach ball, the satellite weighed 184 pounds and orbited Earth
every 96 minutes. It is impossible to comprehend the furor that the launching
caused in the United States without understanding the state of extreme tension
caused by the Cold War.
Ask
students what they think is meant by the term Cold War. (The term Cold War, as it refers to the
tensions of the Soviet Union and its neighbors, was coined by author George
Orwell. In an essay that was published October 19, 1945, in the London Tribune, Orwell wrote of the Soviet Union as
"a state which was...in a permanent state of ‘cold war' with
its neighbors.") Sputnik
broadcast a signal to Earth from its radio beacon when it was in orbit (you can
play the signal at
history.nasa.gov/sputnik/sputnik.wav).
Why was this
signal so amazing but at the same time such a threat to American society? (The broadcast of a signal from outer space was a tremendous
achievement, but for many people in the government, it conjured up a
spy-plane-from-space scenario. Sputnik demonstrated that the Soviet
Union (USSR) was ahead of the United States in space flight, and signaled the
potential for the USSR to launch nuclear weapons from Europe. The launch led to the creation of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration, heralding a new era of U.S. space research.) -
Use Google Earth to simulate what satellites "see" from different
distances from Earth. Arguably one of the
primary reasons for developing satellites in the first place by the
military-industrial complex was to spy on each other. Prior to launching
"spy" satellites, the United States and the Soviet Union used high
altitude spy planes (such as the U-2 spy plane) and developed camera and
telescope imaging technology to take images of ground facilities. This
technology first came to the public's attention during the Cuban missile
crisis in 1961. Download pictures of the Cuban missiles or missile bases (see
Links and Books for a link to a photo) and show one to students. Have students
duplicate this feat by using Google Earth to inspect one of the following
places:
a local
airport a large
U.S. airport such as Logan in Boston, JFK in New York, or Dallas-Fort Worth a naval
yard or ship-building facility
Have students take a screen shot
and file an intelligence report about the site. How many planes can they spot?
What else can they see? Can they see other vehicles, fuel supplies, and hangars
where weapons or planes could be stored?
After Watching
Research satellite
development. Sputnik was the first of
hundreds, and now thousands, of satellites placed into orbit by the USSR,
United States, and many other countries. Organize your class into groups and
assign each group one of the satellite types listed below. Each group should
make a poster that describes:
general
size, weight, structure, what instruments it uses primary
user (science, military, industry) and specific tasks type of
orbit and typical orbital path and height (see Links and Books for information
on types of orbits)
After students have finished their
posters, have a poster viewing session so students can compare the different
types of satellites.
Astronomical satellites
satellites used for observation of distant planets,
galaxies, and other outer space objects Biosatellites
satellites designed to carry living organisms, generally
for scientific experimentation Communications satellites
satellites stationed in space for the purpose of
telecommunications Navigational satellites
satellites that use radio time signals transmitted to
enable mobile receivers on the ground to determine their exact location Reconnaissance satellites
Earth observation satellite or communications satellite
deployed for military or intelligence applications Earth observation satellites
satellites intended for non-military uses such as
environmental monitoring, meteorology, map making etc. Space stations
man-made structures that are designed for human beings
to live on in outer space Weather satellites
satellites that primarily are used to monitor
Earth's weather and climate
Research the history of the
getting to the moon. The launching of
Sputnik 1 and the subsequent launch of Explorer 1 led directly to an even
greater goal: landing a manned spacecraft on the moon. After the launch of
Explorer in 1958, the race to the moon was on. Assign a milestone to each
student or groups of students. Direct each group to synopsize on a 5 x 8-inch
file card what the achievement was and why it was important in the quest to
land on the moon. Have students either extend the previous time line they did
to 1970 and attach their cards, or construct a similar new time line.
|
Milestone
|
Date
|
Mission
|
Country
|
|
First
artificial satellite in Earth orbit
|
1957
|
Sputnik 1
|
USSR
|
|
First animals
sent to and returned from orbit alive
|
1960
|
Sputnik 5
|
USSR
|
|
First probe to
go near the Moon
|
1959
|
Luna 1
|
USSR
|
|
First probe to
impact the Moon
|
1959
|
Luna 2
|
USSR
|
|
First
controlled, unoccupied landing on the Moon; first to transmit from the
Moon's surface
|
1966
|
Luna 9
|
USSR
|
|
First probe to
orbit the Moon
|
1966
|
Luna 10
|
USSR
|
|
First man in
space, first man to orbit the Earth
|
1961
|
Vostok 1
|
USSR
|
|
First one-day flight
|
1961
|
Vostok 2
|
USSR
|
|
First flight
over three days long
|
1962
|
Vostok 3
|
USSR
|
|
First woman in
space
|
1963
|
Vostok 6
|
USSR
|
|
First spacewalk
(EVA)
|
1965
|
Voskhod 2
|
USSR
|
|
The first
rendezvous in space
|
1965
|
Gemini 6A
|
US
|
|
First docking
with another spacecraft
|
1966
|
Gemini 8
|
US
|
|
First manned
mission to leave Earth orbit, first to orbit the Moon
|
1968
|
Apollo 8
|
US
|
|
First
successful manned flight of a spacecraft capable of landing on the Moon
(Apollo Lunar Module)
|
1969
|
Apollo 9
|
US
|
|
First manned
landing on the Moon
|
1969
|
Apollo 11
|
US
|
Model satellite orbits on
paper. Satellites like Sputnik were
launched with orbits relatively close to Earth in terms of average altitude
above Earth's surface. This was a practical matter since the greater the
distance above Earth, the greater the energy required to deliver the satellite
to that height. All orbits of satellites, moons, and planets are elliptical in
shape. Each Earth satellite has an elliptical orbit with a point of closest
approach (perigee), and a point that is farthest away (apogee).
Have students construct a
two-dimensional model of the orbits listed below. Have them draw a circle 60
millimeters in diameter on a piece of paper. Ask students to predict what the
orbit of Sputnik would look like if Earth were scaled down to the size of a
tennis ball (about 60 millimeters in diameter). Have them draw the orbit with
pencil on their sheet of paper.
Give students the average diameter
of Earth (12,600 kilometers) and use the formula below to help them set up the
first ratio and proportion to find the average orbital distance from
Earth for each type of satellite.
| |
height of
satellite above Earth in km
actual diameter
of Earth in km
|
|
=
|
|
(unknown height of satellite in mm)
diameter
of model Earth in mm
|
For Sputnik:
| |
215 km
12,600 km
|
|
=
|
|
x
60 mm
|
| |
x =
|
|
215 km X 60 mm
12,600 km
|
|
= 1.02 mm
|
Thus, the orbit would need to be
roughly a circle only a single millimeter above the surface of Earth!
Sputnik 1: perigee = 215 kilometers, apogee = 939 km; average
250 kilometers
Explorer 1: perigee = 360 kilometers, apogee = 2500 kilometers:
average 575 kilometers
International Space Station: perigee = 320 kilometers, apogee = 347 km, average
= 334 kilometers
Weather satellites in polar
orbits (south to north): average = 860
kilometers
Communication/TV satellites in
geosynchronous orbit (24 hours): = 36,000
kilometers
Links
NOVA—Sputnik Declassified
www.pbs.org/nova/sputnik
Features an excerpt
from a book about V-2 rocket pioneer Wernher von Braun, details how satellites are used to survey
Earth, includes a time line of the space race, and features a way to assemble a
V-2 rocket online.
Cold War
www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/cold_war.htm
Features a synopsis and history of
the Cold War.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
www.classbrain.com/artteenst/publish/article_108.shtml
Provides details of the kind of
evidence that precipitated the Cuban missile crisis and an aerial photo of
missiles in Cuba.
Earth's Atmosphere
liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/space/atmosphere.html
Provides details and diagrams of
Earth's atmosphere and layers.
How Satellites Work
electronics.howstuffworks.com/satellite2.htm
Explains how satellites work and
how they are launched, and describes different types of satellite orbits and
typical altitudes.
Shuttle Mission Imagery
spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-107/html/s107e05697.html
Features a photo with an oblique
view of Earth's horizon and atmosphere.
Books
The Cold War: A New History
by John Lewis Gaddis. New York: Penguin Press, 2005.
Provides a comprehensive look at
the Cold War.
Sputnik: Shock of the Century
by Paul Dickson. New York: Walker & Company,
2001.
Chronicles in detail
the complex series of events that led up to the launch of Sputnik.
Viewing Ideas Author
Jeff Lockwood taught high school astronomy, physics, and Earth science for 28 years. He has authored numerous curriculum projects and has provided instruction on curriculum development and science teaching methods for more than a decade.
|
|
