sputnik
Why We Still Want Laika the Space Dog to Come Home
57 years ago, a Muscovite street dog became the world’s first orbital explorer. She also suffered for our gain.
How Sputnik Popularized the Venn Diagram
A quick history of similarities and differences, in honor of the birth of the (sort of) inventor of the Venn diagram.
The Clunky Little Ball That Caused Mass Hysteria
This October 4th marks the 55th anniversary of the Soviet Union launching Sputnik, history’s first artificial satellite. It was a momentous occasion, to be sure. But at the time, the Soviet and U.S. responses couldn’t have been more different: While...
Laika, the "Muttnik" Dog Who Died So We Could Go To Space
Fifty four years ago this week, on November 3rd 1957, the Soviet government launched Sputnik 2. Inside was Laika, the first traveler to voyage beyond our planet's protective embrace. Alongside the specter of Soviet domination and world war, her mission...
On Its Anniversary, Remembering the Beeping Fear of Sputnik
Fifty-four years ago this week, people throughout America were searching for a flashing dot among the stars every night and tuning their radios to hear the first sound to reach Earth from space.
How Not to Win the Future
On Tuesday night, in the middle of his State of the Union address, President Obama pricked up ears with some Russian. It was the Russki word for “traveling companion,” or “satellite”: “This is our generation’s Sputnik Moment,” he said.