The Soviet Union successfully launched the world’s first artificial Earth satellite on October 4, 1957, ushering in a new era of the human aerospace industry. Launching the first artificial Earth satellite is a complicated project.
Project Content and Launch Process Project No. 1 “Artificial Earth Satellite” mainly includes four aspects: evelDevelopment of launch vehicles; ②Construction of launch sites; ③Development of satellites and scientific detection instruments carried by satellites; ④Establishment of earth observation networks.
At the end of 1956, the С.П. Korolev of the Soviet Union, which is responsible for intercontinental missile development, learned that the United States had conducted a launch vehicle test in September and could launch satellites in the coming months. Therefore, in early 1957, he proposed to the Soviet government to postpone the original plan.
The satellite plan that was planned to be launched during the International Geophysical Year from 1957 to 1958 changed to launch two individual satellites first, namely ПС-1 and ПС-2. Satellites carry only the simplest instruments.
The Soviet government approved this proposal and formed a special committee to lead the launch of the satellite. The launch vehicle used to launch the satellite is modified with the P-7 (SS-6) intercontinental missile. The modified P-7 was named the “Satellite” launch vehicle (Figure 1).
It consists of a central core stage and 4 grouped booster stages, sharing 20 main engines and 12 swim engines. The rocket has a total length of 29,167 meters, a maximum width of 10.3 meters, a takeoff weight of 267 tons, and a takeoff thrust of 3,900 kilonewtons (398 tons of force). It was the largest carrier rocket in the world at the time.
The launch site was selected at the Baikonur launch site near the Aral Sea, and modifications were made accordingly. The Soviet Academy of Sciences determined the projects of scientific exploration of satellites and organized the development of various detection instruments.
The main sensing elements of the satellite include the measurement of atmospheric density, pressure, magnetic field, ultraviolet rays and X-ray data at an altitude of 200 to 500 kilometers. The satellites also carry experimental animals to test their adaptability to the space environment.
Satellite Structure and Orbit “Artificial Earth Satellite” No. 1 is mainly composed of shell, satellite equipment and antenna. The satellite is spherical in shape with an outer diameter of 0.58 meters and a weight of 83.6 kg. The casing is formed by the tips of two hemispherical aluminum alloy casings, which are kept airtight by rubber parts, and the interior is filled with 0.12 MPa (1.3 atmospheres) dry nitrogen.
The surface of the lower half shell is the radiation surface of the thermal control system; the outer surface of the upper half shell is provided with a heat insulation layer. Battery, radio transmitter, thermal control system components, adapter components, temperature and pressure sensors, etc. are installed in the box.
The battery consists of 3 silver-zinc batteries. Two alternately operating radio transmitters are placed in the rectangular slot in the center of the battery, with operating frequencies of 20.005 and 40.002 MHz, respectively. The four whip antennae weigh 8.4 kg and are between 2.4 and 2.9 meters long (Figure 2).
The initial orbital parameters of the satellite are: perigee 215 km, apogee 947 km; 65° orbital inclination; operating period 96.2 minutes. The satellite operated for a total of 92 days and circled the Earth some 1,400 times. The “Artificial Earth Satellite” 1 re-entered the atmosphere and burned up on January 4, 1958. (See color photo)