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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sputnik 1 | 2/8 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1 | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:23:17.580301+00:00 | kb-cron |
The USSR Academy of Sciences was responsible for the general scientific leadership and the supply of research instruments. The Ministry of the Defense Industry and its primary design bureau, OKB-1, were assigned the task of building the satellite. The Ministry of the Radio technical Industry would develop the control system, radio/technical instruments, and the telemetry system. The Ministry of the Ship Building Industry would develop gyroscope devices. The Ministry of the Machine Building would develop ground launching, refuelling, and transportation means. The Ministry of Defense was responsible for conducting launches. Preliminary design work was completed in July 1956 and the scientific tasks to be carried out by the satellite were defined. These included measuring the density of the atmosphere and its ion composition, the solar wind, magnetic fields, and cosmic rays. These data would be valuable in the creation of future artificial satellites; a system of ground stations was to be developed to collect data transmitted by the satellite, observe the satellite's orbit, and transmit commands to the satellite. Because of the limited time frame, observations were planned for only 7 to 10 days and orbit calculations were not expected to be extremely accurate. By the end of 1956, it became clear that the complexity of the ambitious design meant that 'Object D' could not be launched in time because of difficulties creating scientific instruments and the low specific impulse produced by the completed R-7 engines (304 seconds instead of the planned 309 to 310 seconds). Consequently, the government rescheduled the launch for April 1958. Object D would later fly as Sputnik 3. Fearing the U.S. would launch a satellite before the USSR, OKB-1 suggested the creation and launch of a satellite in April–May 1957, before the IGY began in July 1957. The new satellite would be simple, light (100 kg or 220 lb), and easy to construct, forgoing the complex, heavy scientific equipment in favour of a simple radio transmitter. On 15 February 1957 the Council of Ministers of the USSR approved this simple satellite, designated 'Object PS', PS meaning "prosteishiy sputnik", or "elementary satellite". This version allowed the satellite to be tracked visually by Earth-based observers, and it could transmit tracking signals to ground-based receiving stations. The launch of two satellites, PS-1 and PS-2, with two R-7 rockets (8K71), was approved, provided that the R-7 completed at least two successful test flights.
=== Launch vehicle preparation and launch site selection ===