A Memorial Day Posting, Of Sorts.... - Index 01.jpg (1/1)

On Mon, 31 May 2010 16:28:22 -0500, Mitchell Holman wrote:


I can remember the nationwide shock at the launch
of Sputnik, that the US was NOT superior to everyone at everything.


The nationwide shock was the delusion of an ignorant populace.

Those who knew anything understood that Sputnik was an
insignificant bit of theatrics.

Eisenhower, for example, dismissed the whole affair as trivial.

Disclaimer: I was not born until well after Sputnik, but
my historical research reveals the truth.

rabid_fan wrote in newsan.2010.06.01.21.26.06
@righthere.net:

On Mon, 31 May 2010 16:28:22 -0500, Mitchell Holman wrote:


I can remember the nationwide shock at the launch
of Sputnik, that the US was NOT superior to everyone at everything.


The nationwide shock was the delusion of an ignorant populace.

Those who knew anything understood that Sputnik was an
insignificant bit of theatrics.

Eisenhower, for example, dismissed the whole affair as trivial.

Disclaimer: I was not born until well after Sputnik, but
my historical research reveals the truth.


Absolutely right.

The Ike Admin had been able to launch and orbit recon sats several
years prior to Spudnik (sic). They were just too afraid of the
bear being provoked to the point of pushing a red button.

Spudnik made the issue moot...

Jess Lurkin NULL wrote in news:Xns9D8AB055CFBD8IPHIDEinuseALERT@
74.209.136.92:

rabid_fan wrote in newsan.2010.06.01.21.26.06
@righthere.net:

On Mon, 31 May 2010 16:28:22 -0500, Mitchell Holman wrote:


I can remember the nationwide shock at the launch
of Sputnik, that the US was NOT superior to everyone at everything.


The nationwide shock was the delusion of an ignorant populace.

Those who knew anything understood that Sputnik was an
insignificant bit of theatrics.

Eisenhower, for example, dismissed the whole affair as trivial.

Disclaimer: I was not born until well after Sputnik, but
my historical research reveals the truth.


Absolutely right.

The Ike Admin had been able to launch and orbit recon sats several
years prior to Spudnik (sic). They were just too afraid of the
bear being provoked to the point of pushing a red button.


Of course, for a whole year after Sputnik the
US orbital rockets kept blowing up on the launch pad,
showing just how "able" the US was..........

On Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:28:06 -0500, Mitchell Holman wrote:


Of course, for a whole year after Sputnik the
US orbital rockets kept blowing up on the launch pad, showing just how
"able" the US was..........

Dubbed by the popular press the Stayputnik ...

But when the US finally did achieve orbit, the first satellites
contained sophisticated payloads that delivered useful scientific
knowledge. Compare that to the Sputnik payload which was only
a cheap radio transmitter intended to dazzle the ignorant masses
with its incessant (and useless) "bleeping." That was a measure
of the Soviet state of the art.

rabid_fan wrote in newsan.2010.06.02.01.47.09
@righthere.net:

On Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:28:06 -0500, Mitchell Holman wrote:


Of course, for a whole year after Sputnik the
US orbital rockets kept blowing up on the launch pad, showing just how
"able" the US was..........

Dubbed by the popular press the Stayputnik ...

But when the US finally did achieve orbit, the first satellites
contained sophisticated payloads that delivered useful scientific
knowledge. Compare that to the Sputnik payload which was only
a cheap radio transmitter intended to dazzle the ignorant masses
with its incessant (and useless) "bleeping." That was a measure
of the Soviet state of the art.




Of course Sputnik was primitive. But it got into
orbit, something it took the US over a year to imitate.

The plus side was it kick-started US educational
standards and ushered in the priority of math and
science education that served NASA well in the
following decades.

On Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:06:17 -0500, Mitchell Holman wrote:


Of course Sputnik was primitive. But it got into
orbit, something it took the US over a year to imitate.


The story is complex and perhaps best discussed in alt.history
or something.

But, to be brief, the massive Soviet push to develop and
showcase a rocket that had orbital capabilities was a direct
response to their own nuclear bomber inferiority (an inferiority
which persisted until the very end of the cold war).

Furthermore, the US military had plans for orbital satellites
well before Sputnik but were concerned about the political
ramifications of sending space objects over foreign territory.
Ironically, the Soviet Sputnik launch only dissolved those
concerns.


The plus side was it kick-started US educational
standards and ushered in the priority of math and science education that
served NASA well in the following decades.


If public hysteria has value, that was it, I suppose.

Consider the following quote (LA Times, 1957):

One proud exception to the general knicker-twisting? The editorial
board of the Los Angeles Times, whose primary response to the news
of Sputnik's launch was a Pattonesque slap at all the blubbering
ninnies. From our Oct. 8, 1957 editorial "Moonshine About the New
Moon"...

This week-end's outpourings over the Russian satellite show most
of the American spokesmen at their juvenile worst. They act like
the alumni who want to fire the coach every time the team loses
a game. That is exact: they view the satellite launching as a race
which the United States has lost.


"Blubbering juvenile ninnies" is a good characterization of
the public hysteria that surrounded Sputnik.

On Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:47:35 +0000, rabid_fan wrote:


The story is complex and perhaps best discussed in alt.history or
something.


Fortunately, I was able to locate an article on the web
that provides an excellent summary:

http://www.newsweek.com/2007/10/01/t...nik-story.html

Internet sources cannot (yet) compete with printed publications
for depth and comprehensiveness. But be assured that scholarly
works do exist that completely dispel the ridiculous notion
that the Sputnik launch was a "proof" of Soviet technical
superiority. Sputnik was a cheap sideshow, and nothing more.

Mitchell Holman wrote in
30:

snip



Of course, for a whole year after Sputnik the
US orbital rockets kept blowing up on the launch pad,
showing just how "able" the US was..........



Painting with a wide brush there, pilgrim. Refine your
searches. Read more (recently printed) history books.
Quit using Hollyweird as a source (your comment sounds
suspiciously close to a verbatim quote from the script
of "The Right Stuff"). One of these days you may
actually learn the full extent of what was really going
on back in those days.

Just in the last few years has some of the records/info seen
the light of day. Much of what you may believe as history
might actually have been a govt. subterfuge.

Jess Lurkin NULL wrote in news:Xns9D8AED8D8266BIPHIDEinuseALERT@
74.209.136.81:

Mitchell Holman wrote in
30:

snip



Of course, for a whole year after Sputnik the
US orbital rockets kept blowing up on the launch pad,
showing just how "able" the US was..........



Painting with a wide brush there, pilgrim. Refine your
searches. Read more (recently printed) history books.
Quit using Hollyweird as a source (your comment sounds
suspiciously close to a verbatim quote from the script
of "The Right Stuff"). One of these days you may
actually learn the full extent of what was really going
on back in those days.

Just in the last few years has some of the records/info seen
the light of day. Much of what you may believe as history
might actually have been a govt. subterfuge.




"As the first tangible effort to counter the apparent Soviet
leadership in space technology, the White House announced that
the United States would test launch a Project Vanguard booster
on 6 December 1957. The media was invited to witness the launch
in the hope that it could help restore public confidence, but
it was a disaster of the first order. During the ignition sequence,
the rocket rose about three feet above the platform, shook briefly,
and disintegrated in flames. John Hagen, who had been working
feverishly to ready the rocket for flight, was demoralized. He felt
even worse after the next test. On 5 February 1958, the Vanguard
launch vehicle reached an altitude of four miles and then exploded."

http://tinyurl.com/2fyfpp5