Word: earthly
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...accurate reports from Moonwatch teams that were organized to observe the still-grounded U.S. satellite. These data, digested in 21 seconds by a big computer at M.I.T., gave a pretty good orbit for the satellite. It is elliptical, carrying Sputnik to an apogee (high point) 583 miles above the earth and bringing it down to its perigee (low point) 143 miles up. Since both these distances are added to the radius of the earth (3,960 miles), the orbit is almost a circle, and a good indication that the Russian launching vehicle was not only powerful but precisely controlled...
...resistance for its weight, so the thin air at orbit level takes more energy from it. But as the carrier loses energy to the air, it does not lose speed. It spirals down to a lower orbit and speeds up. The nearer an orbiting body is to the earth, the faster it must move. The earth's natural moon, for instance, moves on its distant orbit (240,000 miles from the earth) at only 2,355.2 m.p.h., which is one-seventh of low-flying Sputnik's speed...
High-powered telescopic cameras soon to go into operation will pinpoint the flying satellite within a few feet of distance and a few milliseconds of time. Then its orbit can be tracked with enough precision to observe the effect of variations in the earth's gravitation. The satellite's radio signals (even without the key of the code) will be useful in studying the electrified layers in the upper atmosphere. Non-Russian scientists may even learn a little about the density of the air at orbit altitude, by clocking how fast the satellite loses energy...
...forced selling on margin accounts as prices declined beyond what traders could bear. Underlying all was the growing uncertainty about the course of the U.S. economy, and indeed the nation itself. Early announcements that the U.S. would not embark on a crash program to catch Soviet Russia's earth satellite had a depressing effect. Investors were increasingly worried about high interest rates that led economists to forecast a slight fourth-quarter decline in the rate (currently $37 billion annually) of expenditures for new plant and equipment, the first drop since the first quarter of 1955. The growing surplus...
...mail-order houses and retailers everywhere happily hurled themselves into space. Advertising a $5.89 telescope in its new winter catalogue. Montgomery Ward urged: "Be an earth satellite observer." Spiegel's rocketed away with a "Super Satellite Station" for $3.98. Sears, Roebuck had a $6.37 "Radar Rocket Cannon,'' along with dozens of other fearsome armaments, and practically everyone wanted Tigrett Industries' $20 "Golden Sonic,'' a flying rocket ship powered only by a high-pitched whistle...