How Sputnik 1 changed the world for the good of mankind.
Last edited Fri Nov 22, 2019, 12:47 PM - Edit history (9)
...I was looking up some old posts, and I found one that about loosing stuff that was put up on October 4, this year. That got me to thinking. Wasn't that the day of Sputnik 1 in 1957? Yes, I found out instantly by hitting Google Search, and finding that Sputnik 1 was indeed launched on October 4 1957. That is 62 years ago. Oh MY?.....
...Anyway, I thought for a few minutes about that . U.S.A. was supposed to be the .."leader" in the space race, ...not the Soviet Union. This was an embarrassment to our scientific community and the U.S. government. A few months later, the U.S. tried to launch a rocket with a satellite (Vanguard). That attempt was on Dec 6, 1957, and it failed and blew up at the launch pad. More embarrassment for the United States scientists. I remember that short film played over and over of that rocket blowing up a couple of months after the Soviet Union successfully launched their Sputnik 1 into outer space.
...So, because of that, a Space Race developed between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Who would do this or that first. Which country's rockets were stronger, larger, and better equipped? Lots of drama in that space race. Lives were lost, this was accomplished and that was done. We landed on the moon on July 24, 1969, and won the race to the moon. ... Big Deal..
...But how did Sputnik 1 change the world?...
...OK..Here it is: As the U.S. tried to beat the Russians in the race to the moon, our government developed and used very early .."computers"... to help the satellites navigate and carry out the assignments. For one simple reason, "computers" ... needed to be... as small as possible.
...The larger computers of the early 60s were too heavy and too large to put into a rocket and launched into outer space. So the United States spent a whole lot of money to miniaturize the computers so that when launched, would fit into the rockets. The space race forced the advancement of computers. Of course the U.S. wanted to prove that it had the better space rangers, (better than the Soviet Union) but in the process of doing so, computers and their components became smaller and smaller. As that happened, the computers evolved far quicker than expected. Computer components became more wide spread and much ...cheaper..
..Over time..(from the 70s to now) the components became even smaller than anyone could imagine, and cheaper too.. At some point in 80s, computers became more available to everyone, not just the government and the universities. So computer companies made the components so cheap that normal people could buy them. I recall a friend having a computer he bought in the 90s. He showed me how it worked and did research. In today's money it cost about $9000. or more. (I think he paid $3200 in the mid 90s.) .
..So the show continued. Just like before, the computers became smaller and smaller with more and cheaper components inside. .
....I think I succumbed to the show, and bought my first computer in 2006. (I had been going to the library and using their computers which were available for use by all.) Yes, the computers are even smaller than before, and can now be held in your hand.
... These hand held models are far more powerful and far cheaper than we could imagine in the 80s. It is like a science fiction show that is real....But the advancement of computers and components took place in the 60s and 70s because of the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during that period. That space race started on October 4, 1957. Computers have changed the world in so many positive ways. Particularly in the field of medical science, these advancements have been for the good of mankind.
............Oh, one last thought...this post was sent to you by a computer, over computer lines, over phone lines, to another computer, and then interpreted and posted in a place far, far away. Thank You for reading this.