Harbingers of sputnik: The amateur radio preparations in the Soviet Union
Titel:
Harbingers of sputnik: The amateur radio preparations in the Soviet Union
Auteur:
Bulkeley, Rip
Verschenen in:
History and technology
Paginering:
Jaargang 16 (1999) nr. 1 pagina's 67-102
Jaar:
1999
Inhoud:
After recapitulating and re-evaluating the principal early signals that the Soviet Union was planning to launch an artificial earth satellite (Sputnik 1) in 1957, which have long been familiar to space historians, this article presents some additional pre-sputnik material from Radio, the Soviet government's monthly magazine for radio amateurs, and from other sources, which has not previously been identified by western scholars. The preparations of the Soviet radio amateurs for satellite tracking are also described. The fact that western radio amateurs were no more successful in discovering Soviet intentions, at the time, than the scientists or the intelligence agencies, is documented and discussed. To complete the picture, contemporary assessments of the scientific value of amateur radio observations of the early satellites are surveyed. The article concludes by discussing the surprise aspect of the first sputniks in the light of the fresh information presented, and by noting some still unanswered historical questions.
Tijdschrift beschrijving