Sky & Telescope October 1982 [antikvár]

The "Space Age" (25 Years and Counting)ONE FIFTH of you were not yet born when Sputnik 1 became the first artificial satellite, and perhaps another third were 10 or younger. For most of the rest, however. October 4. 1957. probably conjures up vivid mental images of broadcasts or newspaper headlines describing how the Soviet Union had "beaten" the United States into space.The response to Sputnik 1. and to the more impressive Sputnik 2 that joined it a month later, was varied. On a global scale, there was awe and wonderment; millions craned and squinted to catch a glimpse of the new "stars" sweeping across the nighttime sky. But to Americans, the events represented a threat and a challenge. The ability to launch satellites brought with it the capability to loft warheads across oceans, and in Washington it seemed obvious that the Russians had the means for either.Actually, the United States was not that far behind. All of this took place during the International Geophysical Year, which ran from July, 1957, through the end of 1958. The IGY was a carefully planned and coordinated program to study the Earth, and its complex activities occupied scientists from 67 countries. As part of their IGY involvement, both the U. S. and the Soviet Union announced plans to place satellites in orbit. But the American effort (Project Vanguard) was. by design, a purely civilian project that could not take advantage of existing military rockets. For this reason and others, it was not until early 1958 that Vanguard and the hastily organized Explorer program recorded their first successes.One important response to the Sputnik series was the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Under its guidance, the United States space program flourished and expanded rapidly; many of NASA's accomplishments are highlighted in the other articles presented here.In time, other nations joined the U. S. and U.S.S.R. in space. Today some two dozen countries and international organizations either have their own satellites or plan them in the near future.We have grown comfortable, even apathetic, with the whole idea of "space." Once an entire generation of young people sat glued to television screens as daring pilots awaited the surging engines and fiery ascent that placed them into orbit. But our perspective is different now. To many.outer space is no longer a frontier to be conquered but rather a part of our natural realm. Satellites have become part of our daily lives, through the communications they provide, the weather patterns they observe. and the exotic images they make commonplace.Nor is outer space any longer the sole province of scientists and engineers. It is a business as well, where enormous sums of money are spent and gained as profit. A recent study by Western Union, for example. suggests that the worldwide corporate income from satellite communications networks alone will total 35 to 50 billion dollars over the next 20 years. Many organizations have invested heavily in equipment to receive and process images of the Earth acquired from orbit, in the hope that new reserves of oil, mineral deposits, and other resources will be recognized through telltale geologic patterns. Some companies build satellites to customer specifications, while others even plan to develop and launch their own rockets.Political considerations also play a significant role in the exploitation of space, as they have since 1957. But the scope of international involvement has moved far beyond a race between the United States and Soviet Union. Nowhere was this more apparent than at UNISPACE '82, the second United Nations conference on the peaceful uses of outer space, which convened in Vienna. Austria, during August.Ostensibly, the conference provided a forum to discuss the practical uses of space technology. The United States, for example. introduced an initiative that calls for an international assessment of our planet's long-term habitability. Such a program would combine the global scrutiny available through satellites with data collected at ground level.But other issues brought to the floor at UNISPACE '82 included the sharing of advanced technology with developing countries, competition between nations for commercial markets, and the increasing worldwide concern over military installations in orbit. These are among the concerns of the I980's, and it is in this context that major spacefaring nations must plan their next efforts.NASA IN THE 1980's