The satellite that inspired a science race

The Guardian : Fifty years ago this October a Soviet engineer launched the rocket that put Sputnik-1, a small ball of metal and electronics high into orbit. In doing so, he also launched a new phase of the Cold War. But the signals sent by Sputnik-1 as it encircled the globe also contained a message for academics everywhere. Because they could get beyond the radiation-absorbing, light-distorting fog of the planet’s atmosphere, astronomers could begin to see not just clearly but at all wavelengths . Because satellite design required big electronics in small packages, computer science took off. Because computer scientists had new ways of storing and transmitting information, geologists could become planetary scientists as well, and dream up billion dollar questions that ended in billion-kilometre journeys. The satellite was the beginning of a thousand technological marvels, such as real-time Earth observation, accurate weather forecasting, pinpoint navigational accuracy and instant global communication.And people who had never thought of going into science suddenly saw a whole new world of possibilities.