Word: sputniked
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Spurred by Sputnik...
...first precedent was set by Sputnik 1, which, in 96.2 minutes in 1957, sailed blithely across the skies, bridging the theoretical boundaries of nations without so much as an izvinite or by-your-leave. What could any of the violated nations do about it? Nothing. None of them even thought to protest. That spontaneous abdication of national prerogative in deference to Sputnik's achievement still informs the approach to space nearly a decade-and thousands of trespasses-later. No established rules exist in space, and no method has yet been found to make rules effective there...
What if all or part of an orbiting object falls to earth and harms either property or persons? Nobody has yet been hit by a piece of falling space hardware, although four years ago a 20-lb. piece of Sputnik 4 plunked down on a street in Manitowoc, Wis. (It was duly returned to the Russians after being analyzed.) Because of the inherently high velocity of any object in orbit, most pieces of space junk are consumed in their fiery plunge through the earth's atmosphere. But as man launches more and more satellites and probes-the Japanese...
...went all last week as 80 amateur rocketeers, aged nine to 67, fired off samples of their best hardware at the eighth national meet of the National Association of Rocketry. The 2,000-member organization was formed in the post-Sputnik days, had as its main aim the laying down of rules so that the hobby, which often proved fatal, would be safe as well as fun. Eight years ago, the N.A.R. estimates, homemade rockets were killing or maiming one out of every seven kids and laymen attempting to mix fuel and fire a backyard bird. Explosive mixtures of sulphur...
...outer space. The organization's first report in 1946 was a carefully reasoned study that demonstrated the feasibility of employing spaceships in weather forecasting and military reconnaissance. In June 1957, Rand warned the Air Force that the Russians would orbit their first satellite around Sept. 17, 1957. Sputnik went up on Oct. 4 of that year...