Sputnik 1
The first man-made artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched by the Soviet union on the 4th of October 1957, it marked the beginning of the Sopace Age. The satellite travelled at 29,000 kilometers per hour (18,000 mph), completed an orbit in 96.2 minutes and transmitted radio signals at 20.005 and 40.002 mhz and was monitored by many amateurs worldwide. Sputnik’s flight lasted until the 4th of January 1958 when it burned up after coming back into the Earth’s atmoshere.
Mike AA1TJ has taken on a project to rebuild the transmitter used in Sputnik 1 and hopes to complete it sometime this year before the 64th anniversary of its launch. This may prove to be a historic project, reproducing something that blasted us into the Space Age.
For more information, check out the wiki link.
73, Al