Sputnik
The satellite's unanticipated success precipitated the American Sputnik crisis and triggered the Space Race, part of the Cold War. The launch was the beginning of a new era of political, military, technological and scientific developments.[7][8] The word sputnik is Russian for satellite when interpreted in an astronomical context;[9] its other meanings are spouse or traveling companion.[10][11]
Sputnik
Спутник-1, romanized as Sputnik-Odin (pronounced [ˈsputʲnʲɪk.ɐˈdʲin]), means 'Satellite-One'. The Russian word for satellite, sputnik, was coined in the 18th century by combining the prefix s- ('together') and putnik ('traveler'), thereby meaning 'fellow traveler', a meaning corresponding to the Latin root satelles ('guard, attendant or companion'), which is the origin of English satellite.[14] In the Russian language, sputnik is the general term for the artificial satellites of any country and the natural satellites of any planet.[14]
By the end of 1956, it became clear that problems in the development of the scientific instruments for Object D threatened to derail the schedule. To meet politically important window, OKB-1 proposed the Soviet government an offer it could not refuse -- to precede Object D with a "prosteishy sputnik," or "simplest satellite," also known by Russian abbreviation as PS. With the launch mass of "only" 80-100 kilograms, and it could be launched in April-May 1957.
However, as TIME noted, at least some people saw sputnik as a good sign for the U.S., realizing that it was just the kick the nation needed to commit seriously to space exploration. The reason for the Soviet success was not superior thinking, they felt, but rather that the U.S. had not yet decided to commit to the cause. As the space race got into gear, those people could hardly have known just how right they were. 041b061a72