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Author
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Topic: Do you remember Oct 4, 1957?
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MarylandSpace
Member Posts: 1336
From:
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 10-04-2006 08:25 PM
   
I remember that I was at a Cub Scouts meeting in South Plainfield, New Jersey. The den mother told us that Russia had launched a satellite on a rocket called Sputnik.As 7-year olds, we asked, "What's a satellite?" Also, sometime in the 1950's, I remember that we "practiced" "air raid" drills and crawled under the kitchen table. (My mother was in U.K. during WW II.) |
dss65
Member Posts: 1156
From: Sandpoint, ID, USA
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 10-04-2006 08:49 PM
I do, but just barely. I was not quite six years old at the time. I remember the discomfort that it caused in the U.S.--discomfort that lasted a long time. I also well remember the atom bomb drills. Sure glad those desks were there to protect us!------------------
Don |
Chris Dubbs
Member Posts: 145
From: Edinboro, PA USA
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted 10-05-2006 07:06 AM
I remember that three years later I was enrolled in the newly-introduced Russian language course in high school. |
ejectr
Member Posts: 1751
From: Killingly, CT
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 10-05-2006 10:10 AM
I remember running to tell my parents what I had just heard about the new Russian accomplishment.I must admit having listened to the news reports as closely as I could understand them at age 8, I knew more about it as an eight year old than my parents did as 50 and 40 year olds. It didn't take my mother long to catch on, though. She turned into the biggest John Glenn fan the world ever knew at the time. |
STEVE SMITH
unregistered
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posted 10-05-2006 12:23 PM
Changed my life!!As a Freshman in HS, I and other supposedly bright kids had our curriculum changed by next school year (less the Russians send Submarines up trhe James River near Springfield, Mo. and bury us because we didn't study a lot of Math and Science. However our TV's and Air Conditininig and Houses and Chevy's were better, and they sure didn't have Steve Allen, Sid Ceasar, Ernie Kovacs, or Roy Rodgers, and certainly not Trigger.) Didn't have time to take Spanish II ( a mistake in hindsight). Didn't take Biology, but did take Chemistry and Phuysics as a Sophomore and Junior, a unheard of situation and one year earlier than usual. Twelve of us took "Advanced Science" our Senior Year. We made it up as we went along, and never did figure quite what it was to be. We however had a wonder teacher John Miles who taught us many life lessons that I still use, and made some wonderful kindered spririt friends. There eas a real paronia over USA that really drop kicked us forward. I don't have the title in front of me, but recently read an excellent book ("Sputnik"?) that was fascinating and captured a lot of background I didn't know including Social, Political, and Technical background. |
FFrench
Member Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 10-05-2006 01:31 PM
quote:
Originally posted by STEVE SMITH:
I don't have the title in front of me, but recently read an excellent book ("Sputnik"?) that was fascinating and captured a lot of background I didn't know including Social, Political, and Technical background.
Probably "Sputnik: The Shock of the Century" by Paul Dickson. A great book, highly recommended. |
mikepf
Member Posts: 441
From: San Jose, California, USA
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 10-05-2006 03:15 PM
I don't remember much from October 4, 1957. I was only one day old!Mikie |
STEVE SMITH
unregistered
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posted 10-05-2006 04:18 PM
Frances, that is the book. Highly recommend it. |
Gilbert
Member Posts: 1328
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 10-06-2006 11:23 AM
What I remember is my mother and dad talking with my aunt and uncle as they played Rook in our living room that night. I remember my dad saying, "That Russian thing is flying over us right now and we can't do anything about it" or something like that. My uncle (both were WW2 veterans) said, "Soon they'll be putting Atomic bombs up there and they'll be able to drop them anywhere they want to." I remember being fascinated by their conversation, but not fully comprehending what they were saying. |
Glint
Member Posts: 1040
From: New Windsor, Maryland USA
Registered: Jan 2004
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posted 10-06-2006 02:45 PM
Don't remember much being 18 hours old at the time of Sputnik 1's launch. I've often wondered if this coincidence had anything to do with my interest in space and astronomy. Perhaps a subconscious desire to justify my existence based on when it started.  |
Joe Frasketi
Member Posts: 191
From: Florida USA
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 10-13-2006 08:18 PM
I was stationed at the St. Lucia AAF Tracking Station on that date, it was a Saturday afternoon that I learned that the Russians has put the first artificial satellite into space, this was after a bunch of us range rats had come back from a mountain climb hike, where we had "lost" one of the hikers. We were more concerned about his whereabouts than the satellite, and a search party was formed and searched that evening to no avail.
The next morning, here comes George Fritz walking up the road, quite perturbed when he learned that there was a search party looking for him, as he was an experienced hiker and knew how to take care of himself after falling into the bush and passing out the previous day.
And so I will always remember the launching of the first satellite with this hike and good ol' George.In actuality, our hike was on Oct. 5th a Saturday and it was only then that we learned that the Russians had launched the first artificial satellite the previous day, Oct. 4th. I may be wrong but I believe the russians delayed the announcement of their launching until they were certain it was a successful launch and orbit. In those days there was a lot of secrecy of what they were doing.
------------------
Joe Frasketi |
art540
Member Posts: 432
From: Orange, California USA
Registered: Sep 2006
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posted 10-14-2006 08:48 AM
Hi Joe: I was wondering if you had any interesting stories about tracking missiles
and the equipment in use.........Art LeBrun |
Joe Frasketi
Member Posts: 191
From: Florida USA
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 10-14-2006 12:16 PM
quote:
Hi Joe: I was wondering if you had any interesting stories about tracking missiles
and the equipment in use.........
Art LeBrun
Hi Art: Thanks for asking.
You will find a couple of articles I wrote about the Grand Turk tracking station which you might find interesting, on my website, http://spacecovers.com/articles.htm
I worked there 1958-63, one article covers my experiences with the Glenn Mercury flight and recovery, he came to Grand Turk for post flight debriefing. Years ago, I think it was 1961, I wrote an article "Life on a Missile Tracking Station" which was published in an American Topical Association space stamp handbook but it's not in print anymore. One of these days I'd like to update it and put it on my website. I'm currently working on updating an article about Ascension Island and its connection with the US space program, which I wrote for Linns Stamp News in 1978. Joe Frasketi |
Jan Wiseman
New Member Posts: 3
From: Salisbury, MD
Registered: Oct 2006
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posted 11-01-2006 08:03 PM
I remember it very as a junion in high school in the Midwest. I had just signed up to be an observer of the aurora borealis for the International Geophysical Year. My contact was through Cornell University. During the program, I was to make observations of the sky every 15' and so watching for the new satellite was an exciting way to start. |
bruce
Member Posts: 916
From: Fort Mill, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 11-08-2006 07:23 AM
If anything, I remember birthday cake and chocolate ice cream. I turned 3 that day!Best,
Bruce |
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