Inspired by the fact that today is the 50th Anniversary of the launch of the Sputnik-1 satellite (see photo here), I was wondering what actually happened to that physical satellite? And the next one, a month later, with the little dog aboard?
Did they eventually fall and burn up on re-entry to earth, or are they still floating around somewhere in orbit up there?
There was no dog aboard. You are thinking of Sputnik-2.
A later Sputnik – Korabl-Sputnik AKA “Sputnik 4” was launched May 14, 1960, and crashed in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and is now in the Rahr-West Art museum there:
The Russians have at least one Sputnik that was never launched and which has gone on museum exhibit. I saw it at an exhibit of Soviet Space Hardware at the Boston Museum of Science back in 1990.
Hmmm…where could I find a full-sized replica?
That one I saw on exhibit was an exact relica* of Sputnik 1. Go ask the Russians
Well your in luck.
Besides one of the three MIR core modules manufactured, Tommy Bartlett Exploratory contains a replica of the the Sputnik 1 satellite. The links don’t have pictures. I guess you can come to Wisconsin and stop at Manitowoc to view the remains of Sputnik 4 and Wisconsin Dells. to see the replica of Sputnik 1. You can walk in the MIR module too. Being in the cylindrical module plays havoc with your balance.
At the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
The Sputnik IV fragment in Manitowoc is a replica. The original was returned to the Russkies. I’m a native of Manitowoc (go Ships!) and have seen the display many times.
The Forevertron contains the decontamination chamber from the Apollo space mission. The art piece is one of many on the site, and is the worldest largest sculpture on a science fiction landscape, whatever that means. I just know I love this sculpture. Read the link to see what else of historical significance is in the sculpture. These two links have many pictures.
http://detour.webdatabases.net/site_detail.html?ArtistID=10066&ArtID=10066
The UW Geology Museum in Madison has some meteors. One is a 320 pound chunk. They have a few dino specimens too.
There are many different erratics that show up in Wisconsin, like the Eagle Diamond.
Eagle Diamond
link to story NPR just did a segment on this. There is a fellow in California that thinks his dad recovered the remains of sputnik (discribed as a few bits or metal and some small plastic tubes) on thier ranch…they are looking for someone and or some way to authenticate them.
Try these guys. They say they can make anything, including a f/s model of the shuttle.
Jebus! What a kludge! Hadn’t they ever soldered before? “Da, komrade, hanging components every which way improves balance, as do globs of extra solder.” I wonder if that model were thrown together to mislead the West, because the forces of liftoff would tear that apart.
And if it’s accurate, to think we were afraid of those people. :smack:
If it was accurate, then it certainly did its job. It transmitted data for several days upon achieving orbit. “These people” then managed to put a dog into orbit that survived for a few hours before dying of overheating and “stress.” At the same time, we weren’t even able to launch a rocket with a payload the size of a softball successfully. :dubious:
Which isn’t to say Sputnik 1 was a marvel of technological engineering, either. But remember, they weren’t trying to do it right, just do it fast. 
Besides, Sputnik-1 was cobbled together at the last minute, when it became clear that the more elaborate science satellite wouldn’t be ready in time. The Wikipedia page says the actual Sputnik-1 project (the satellite itself, not the launcher) was only approved in February of 1957, less than 8 months before launch.
Also, I wonder if the electronics components were potted (encased in epoxy or similar substance) after the above photo was taken?
I suspect the real thing used aluminum plates with insulated pins pressed into them…replaced by plastic plates for the mockup. This was a fairly standard construction technique used for US military electronics right through the 1970’s.
I can assure you that the power supplies and spoiler motor drives in the flight controls for the B-1b, for example, are built in nearly that same fashion.
Mounting components every which way is often preferable in RF circuits, as it minimizes lead lengths, and so stray inductance and unintended coupling. What appear to be solder blobs at the nodes are most likely leads wrapped around pins before soldering, and possibly also the insulating bushings that isolate the pins from the plate.
As shown, the circuit boards (yes we called the plates that) would have served as bulkheads for the outer sphere. Also, lacking any air for cooling, it is important to spread the parts out so that they can cool via radiation alone. Note that they got several days operation out of the thing on the first try.
(looking closer at the photo) I’ll defer to your expertise, but to this guy who has kludged together some circuits, all of which had the expected problems, that workmanship had “incompetent amateur” stamped all over it. For one thing, many of those leads are much longer than they need to be. Second, even if the wires are wrapped at the joints before soldering, the joints contain so much extra solder that it creates balls at the joint, not a coil oe cylinder. Third, too many things are hanging unsupported except for the joints, and that makes the leads subject to metal fatigue. Sure, it lasted three days in zero G, but I’m surprised nothing broke when subjected to the forces and vibration of the trip up.
But I’ve owned some Soviet goods and Ivan definitely subscribed to the “more is better” school of everything, including solder. I made a radio work better by going through it with a soldering iron and a braid, making sure every connection was both solid and clean. I got a LOT of excess solder off it.
