Sputnik and Me

Al Koch
June 2025

In everyone’s life there are historic events of such magnitude that they brand the mind. So memorable are these occurrences that one remembers exactly where they were, what they were doing, and whom they were with. Regardless of how many years pass, these images are recalled as clearly as if they happened yesterday. The 40s were a decade of such events: Pearl Harbor, the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, D-Day, V.E. Day, and V.J. Day. My recollections of those times are not quite in focus, as I was under the age of five to experience the full emotional impact of those events.

My historical awareness took root during the 1950s. The decade began with the Korean War, General MacArthur’s, dismissal from duty by President Harry Truman, the Korean Armistice, the threat of nuclear war, the development of the Hydrogen bomb, the Cold War, and reached branding-iron intensity on October 4, 1957, when Russia launched the world’s first earth-orbiting satellite—Sputnik. It set off a national 5-11 alarm.

Without firing a single shot, this 183-1/2-pound, signal-emitting sphere of Russian technological superiority orbited the sky and tore a gaping hole in America’s national security blanket.  For the first time since World War II, America was thrust in the role of an also-ran. Being number one in the world was no more. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the United State Congress, and American people were shocked! How could this happen?  Had America become so complacent and over-confident that we allowed another country to challenge our position as world leader?  Sputnik set off a firestorm of discourse across the country.

I remember the day Sputnik changed our lives—and changed America. It was a month into my senior year at Whiting High School, when the tranquility of our lives and our nation came to a “beeping” halt. October 4, 1957, dawned a drizzly, gray Friday. It was the morning’s first period class, and I was going about my assigned tasks in the machine shop when our teacher, Mr. McClure, called the class to his desk. Always pleasant with a quick smile, his solemn tone matched the dreariness of the day and gave us uneasy feelings of concern.

He began, “The world will never be the same again. The Russians have launched a satellite into outer space. It’s named Sputnik.” Mr. McClure went on to explain what this meant in terms of Russia’s military and technological superiority, and how America was shocked by this feat. For the first time in my life, America’s self-confidence seemed shattered. I did not fully understand every nuance of Sputnik, but I could tell from George McClure’s voice that this was a very serious matter.  The unthinkable flashed across my mind: Could Russia overtake the United States? Just the thought caused a knot to form in the pit of my stomach. What a way for our senior year to begin.

By the end of the first full week following Sputnik’s launch, we had garnered enough information to initially enter the lexicon of space technology. We learned about elliptical orbits and defined terms like apogee and perigee. We clipped articles and illustrations from the daily newspapers. We read about rockets, boosters, and orbital paths. This 23-inch diameter, beach ball-sized radio transmitter spawned phrases, jokes, and songs. The entire world was witness to the birth of a new era. For on that first Friday in October1957, the Space Age was born!

Even though America had been jolted by this technological achievement, it all seemed so far away, disconnected from our immediate concerns here in Whiting, Indiana. That perception, however, changed very quickly.

About two weeks after Sputnik was launched, newspapers carried details of the orbits, and when the satellite would pass over the Chicago area. The schedule indicated direction, degree from the horizon, and the time of the pass. For novice satellite watchers, Sputnik had an elliptical orbit, meaning it was not a perfect circle around the Earth. Its farthest point from Earth (apogee) was 584 miles and the perigee (closest point to the Earth) was 143 miles. The orbit had a 65-degree inclination, meaning it did not align with the Earth’s equator. Sputnik traveled at the speed of 18,000 miles an hour and took 96 minutes to complete one earth orbit. It traveled from west to east across the sky.

Four senior machine shop students made plans to view Sputnik: John Pohl, Leonard Scher, Leroy Girman, and this writer. We each had a copy of the article with the illustrations and technical information printed in the afternoon edition of the Chicago Daily News. 

A few days later, on a clear, dark, cool October evening, the four of us met at the 117th Street entrance to Whiting Park, walked to the beach, and took up lookout positions, over coal-black Lake Michigan. Len Scher had a wristwatch with a second hand, and at the prescribed time, we carefully began scanning the star-filled night sky, from west to east. I sat on the sand to more easily guide my field of vision. John and Leroy brought binoculars to help with their search. According to newspapers and radio reports, it should be possible to see Sputnik with the naked eye, appearing as a moving star. Because I did not have binoculars, I decided to test the accuracy of that information.

I leaned back against a small dune and stared skyward. Although I was with three of my good friends—I felt alone. A cool, frisky October wind snuck inside my partially zipped poplin jacket and made me shiver. The lake, too, protested the capricious breeze and slapped more vigorously at the sandy shore with immature waves in a rhythmic cadence of surf and sand. Intently focused, I continued my satellite search.

Then suddenly, as if dropped into the star field with an unseen hand, I saw it! The small pinpoint of light, more than 140 miles above my eyes, moving eastward silently through the autumn night. Other voices confirmed the sighting. I locked onto this rocket-launched beacon and followed its path across the heavens. My senses were overwhelmed by the vastness of space and seeing the first man-made cosmic vehicle as it traveled beneath the light of ancient stars. Sight came together with sound as I listened to the concert of wind and wave. Excited voices of youthful friends competed for attention with the whistle of a freight train off in the distance. I used my hand for added balance, and the fragrance of autumn blended in concert with the feel of dry beach sand as I continued visual tracking the “traveling companion.”

Looking up, I was awed by my insignificance on this planet, a mere speck of humanity. In the grand scheme of things, how puny and trivial we are. But through faith, we find belonging, comfort, protection, and purpose in all that is seen and unseen. As the man-made sphere followed its orbital path, I experienced an unexplainably uniquely, pensive, prayerful-like moment. 

Today, nearly seventy years later, Sputnik is just a memory. As a country, the United States answered the political, scientific and technological challenges and won the race to the moon and returned the three astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, safely back to earth in July of 1969.

 Over the years, the United States has sent sophisticated spacecrafts to explore our solar system and beyond. In time our national anxiety faded, and we regained our self-confidence. Years later, other events would impact my mind and warrant instant recall. I would remember those incidents in other ways. Sputnik I, however, was special. It caused a 16-year-old senior in high school to become a more knowledgeable citizen, a better student, and helped him learn essential life lessons--the Whys and What-Fors of life’s journey. Almost seven decades later, that journey continues. I still look at the star-filled sky; no longer searching for satellites, but in appreciation for the creation, majesty, mystery, and wonder displayed before my eyes.

Epilogue

Later we learned that Sputnik had a short lifespan. Because of the earth’s atmospheric drag, (the satellite’s altitude decreased with each orbit), As a result, after about three months, its orbit deteriorated, and it burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere on January 4, 1958.  Russia’s scientists stated Sputnik’s batteries were designed to last but two weeks but operated for 22 days.  The last transmission was recorded on October 26, 1957. Before its demise, Sputnik completed 1,440 orbits of the earth.

There were 3 Russian Sputniks.  After Sputnik I, Sputnik II was launched November 3, 1957, the first with a living passenger, a dog named Laika.  It was in orbit 162 days.  It was not designed for recovery, and it was understood the dog would not survive.  Sputnik II burned up in the earth’s atmosphere on April 14, 1958. Sputnik III was launched May 14, 1958.  Although it contained a plethora of scientific instruments it failed to map the Van Allen Radiation Belt. Sputnik III also was destroyed upon re-entry on April 6, 1960

America’s first satellite was launched in January of 1958 – Explorer I. In March of 1958, the United States launched Vanguard I, a grapefruit-sized metal sphere and after nearly 70 years, it is still in orbit! As a nation we became familiar with satellites named Explorer, Vanguard, Discovery, IRAS, and TROS.  Space Age terminology became common usage in our language as astronomy, science, technology, and computer advancements expanded and enriched the quality of life on planet earth.