A manufactured Moon
You know that a moon is a natural object that orbits a body in space. But did you know that another name for a moon is satellite? An artificial moon, or satellite, is one made by people. Here’s the story of the first artificial satellite.
On October 4, 1957, a rocket took off from Earth. It carried an artificial satellite that weighed 83 kilograms, and its powerful engine drove it at a speed of nearly 8 kilometres per second. The Soviet scientists who had launched it from the former Soviet Union watched nervously as it roared into space.
The rocket quickly reached a height at which it could begin to orbit. Then its nose was automatically pushed off, and a metal globe a little bigger than a football was hurled into space. The globe then went into orbit.
Four long, slim antennas (long metal rods) automatically opened up out of the metal ball and began broadcasting. Scientists at a special radio station on Earth began hearing a steady, high beep-beep-beep.
That signal told them that the globe was out in space, moving around Earth. Back on Earth, people were very excited. The first manufactured moon, or artificial satellite, had been launched. This artificial satellite became known as Sputnik, which is the Russian word for “traveller”. It orbited Earth every 96 minutes.
Sometimes it was travelling about 230 kilometres from Earth. At other parts of its orbit, it went about 940 kilometres from Earth.
Picture Credit : Google
