October 4, 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of one of the 20th century’s most crucial events: the launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth.
Inspired by Sputnik 1’s daring launch in the autumn of 1957, we at Sputnik, Inc. aim to take wireless communication to even higher heights a half-century later— only this time, without the ominous, repeated beeping:
Five Things You Should Know About Sputnik, the Soviet Satellite Program
1. Sputnik 1 was the first satellite to orbit Earth. Its launch stunned the world and signaled the sudden dawn of the Space Race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.
2. Sputnik 1 was launched from the world’s oldest and largest space launch facility: Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Noted Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev was not present for the historic launch.
3. With a diameter of 23 inches and a weight of 184 pounds, Sputnik 1 was slightly larger than a basketball— albeit an extremely heavy basketball made of shiny aluminum alloy that does not bounce.
4. Sputnik 1 lapped Earth every 96 minutes and traveled about 37,000,000 total miles prior to its January 1958 demise. Despite the extreme mileage it logged, its trade-in value remained remarkably robust: a Los Angeles radio station offered a $50,000 reward for Sputnik upon its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
5. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev derided Vanguard, the Americans’ undersized satellite answer to Sputnik 1, by calling it a “grapefruit.”
Five Things You Should Know About Sputnik, the Wi-Fi Management Company
1. Sputnik provides everything you need to simply and affordably operate a public access Wi-Fi network of any size.
2. Sputnik’s easy-to-use products and services demonstrate that wireless network set-up and maintenance do not require advanced degrees in rocket science.
3. Sputnik’s airtight-secure technology is flexible enough to enable any Wi-Fi business model, whether free, paid, or advertising-supported.
4. Sputnik makes managing a wireless network from a web browser so smooth, Laika the Cosmonaut Dog could almost do it— if she were outfitted with opposable thumbs and still frisky.
5. Sputnik-powered Wi-Fi networks are running in virtually all of the countries traversed by Sputnik 1’s orbital paths— over 100 around the world.
Sputnik Trivia
Q: What is the rough English translation for the Russian word “Sputnik”?
A: “Satellite,” or “fellow traveler.”
Q: Who remarked of Sputnik 1's 1957 launch, “This is just like Kitty Hawk. The world is changed forever, and I am going to be part of that new world”?
A: Ross Perot. The multi-billionaire and two-time Presidential candidate founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962 in Plano, Texas.
Q: What did pundits call Vanguard TV-3, the American satellite that exploded on its launch pad in December 1957?
A: Kaputnik.
Q: Sputnik 1 inspired writer Herb Caen to coin what term in an article about the Beat Generation in a 1958 San Francisco Chronicle article?
A: Beatnik.
Q: How long did the International Geophysical Year (during which the launch of Sputnik 1 occurred) actually last?
A: The IGY, a global cooperative scientific undertaking, lasted 18 Earth months. It began July 1, 1957, and ended December 31, 1958.
Q: The Sputnik 1 launch directly led to the 1958 creation of what prominent U.S. government agency?
A: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a.k.a. NASA.
Q: What did pundits call Sputnik 2, the Soviet satellite that included Laika the Cosmonaut Dog?
A: Muttnik.
Other Sputniks of Note, Past and Present
Food and Beverage
- Sputnix sweets, confectionery and licorice (Netherlands)
- Sputnik vodka, by Russian Vodka House (U.K. / Russia)
- Sputnik beer (California - U.S.)
- Sputnik liqueurs (New Jersey - U.S.)
Goods
- Sputnik microphone, by Avid (Massachusetts - U.S.)
- Sputnik Spins slot machine, by IGT (Nevada - U.S.)
- Sputnik chandeliers, lava lamps, and sconces (New Jersey - U.S.)
- Sputnik bags and fanny packs, by Brady-Archmont (New York - U.S.)
- Sputnik Engineering, producer of grid-connected solar inverters (Switzerland)
- Sputnik hand-operated pressure-washing machines (South Africa)
- Ball-Stik Sputnik massage balls (Denmark)
- Sputnik vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, and electric shavers (U.S.S.R.)
- Sputnik sailboards (Austria)
- The Sputnik golf club swing aid (Kansas - U.S.)
Services
- Sputnik Woodworking (Bahamas)
- Sputnik Prospecting: Oil field exploitation (Switzerland)
- Sputnik II: Intellectual property protection consultants (New York - U.S.)
- Sputnik Entertainment: Production / market research company (New York - U.S.)
