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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 January 2010
The Russian Sputnik travels rather faster than the Mayflower or even a transatlantic racing yacht, and the launching of this artificial satellite is truly a wonderful achievement. I want to tell you why I think so, and what it means for the future.
The satellite, which was launched on 3 October, has already made 300 revolutions about the Earth. Its speed is about 17,000 miles/hour, which is about 280 miles a minute, and it makes one revolution about the Earth in 96 minutes—that is, 15 revolutions a day. Its track is inclined to the equator at an angle of about 65 degrees, so that at one time it goes up to the Arctic Circle, and at the other end of its path down to the Antarctic.