Death of Sputnik IV

The Russians hurled a 5-ton spacecraft into orbit in by JAMES C. SPRY May 1960. Two weeks later they attempted reentry Public Information Office maneuvers. Something went wrong, and the way- U.S. Civil Service Commission ward satellite swung into a higher orbit. Nearly 28 months later it plunged to earth over Wisconsin. Federal scientists of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Mass., and volunteer Moon- watch teams were waiting for it, and retrieved what before their successful Vostok flight.) The satellite, was left of the Russian prize. they said, carried a dummy cosmonaut in a pressurized cabin, and was programed for reentry maneuvers. Two The Journal presents here the story of their success- weeks later, the retrorockets were fired to slow the space- ful recovery and scientific analysis of the surviving craft for reentry. However, something went wrong. fragment. The retrorockets obviously fired in the wrong direction, for the vehicle broke into several pieces and swung into N SATURDAY, JANUARY 5, 1963, representa- a higher orbit that ended more than 2 years later on a 0 tives of the Soviet Embassy in Washington for- Manitowoc street. mally accepted from the United States the last remains of A disappointment to the Russians, yes. But the re- Sputnik IV-a 14-pound chunk of blackened metal. covery and scientific analysis of the Sputnik fragment The acceptance occurred only after a long series of ne- spelled high success to the Federal career scientists of the gotiations following the initial American offer of the Astrophysical Observatory of the Smithsonian Institu- fragment at the United Nations. tion (SAO), Cambridge, Mass., and to their volunteer Today the Sputnik fragment is undoubtedly back home Moonwatch teams scattered around the world. in Russia, where by international agreement it rightfully belongs. It might even be on display in a Moscow THE STORY BEGINS . museum-a disappointing thought to those who felt it should be turned over to one of our own museums, Many people were involved in the recovery of the either to the Smithsonian or to the museum in Mani- Sputnik IV fragment. In terms of numbers, the mem- towoc, Wis. Why Manitowoc? Because the fragment, bers of Moonwatch comprised the largest group. as part of the satellite, had whizzed through space for "Boy Scouts to bankers" has often been used to de- nearly 28 months and had crashed to earth in the middle scribe the composition of Moonwatch teams-groups of of a Manitowoc street-practically in front of the com- volunteer citizens who have proved themselves valuable munity's own museum! participants in the space age. Though they come from The Russians had hurled the 5-ton spacecraft into all walks of life and represent different age groups, they orbit on May 14, 1960, and had announced that this was all have at least three things in common: some knowledge to be a test of their life-support system. (This was of astronomy, a deep inter-est ':I.-+.-it's gting on over- @ Fnrn wlb CIVIL SERVICE JOURNAL head, and a desire to participate in space adventures. Moonwatchers, known as MW’s, are scattered around the world. Today there are 94’registered teams (60 of a satellite (or fragments) would have to survive the them in the U.S.), averaging 10 members each. Their flaming plunge through the earth’s atmosphere and activities are directed by Richard C. Vanderburgh, Chief, would have to fall on inhabited Free World land.: The Moonwatch Operations, Smithsonian Astrophysical Oh reentry would have to be observed; the point of impact servatory. calculated; and the surviving fragments located. This The MW’s put themselves on the map at the very would surely happen, the SA0 scientists reasoned, sooner beginning of the space age. Already organized and or later-probably within 1 to 10 years. Undaunted by partially trained to help make visual observations during such poor odds, they knew that a successful recovery (and after) the International Geophysical Year, they would have great scientific value in the fields of radia- were ready to respond when Russia caught the free worlJ tion and meteoritic studies, especially since the amount off-guard with the launching of Sputnik I on October 4, of time the fragment had spent in space would be known 19S7. Our tracking stations were not yet fully opera- precisely. tional, so the MW’s headed for the fields and rooftops The U.S. had previously recovered some fragments and provided our first direct information on the orbit from space, mostly pieces of rocket casings that had and other characteristics of the satellite. been up for only a few orbits, but we had never recov- During the years since Sputnik I, the Moonwatchers ered any satellite fragment that had been exposed to the have performed a variety of useful services. However, space environment for any length of time. It was this the growing sophistication of our electronic and camera latter condition that interested the SA0 people. tracking systems threatened to put them out of business. Dr. Fred L. Whipple, Director of SAO, had other ideas. A TRIAL RUN At the third annual MW Teamleaders Conference at As an experiment, the Moonwatch Division made SA0 in May 1962, Dr. Whipple gave renewed emphasis plans to conduct an organized skypatrol in an attempt to visual observations of reentering satellites as an MW to observe the next large reentering satellite-which project. Up to that time, the SAO-Moonwatch effort5 happened to be Sputnik IV. The U.S. Space Detection to recover satellite fragments, supported in part by a and Tracking Center (SPADATS) had predicted reentry NASA grant, had been unsuccessful. Dr. Whipple sug- of this satellite to occur on or about September 6, 1962. gested an intensified effort, pointing out that with morc Exact time and place of reentry: unknown. and more satellites going up, and more and more coming Using their own approach to the problem. plus basic . down, the chances for success were getting better. He information provided by SPADATS, the Moonwatch felt that MW observers would have a better chance for Division outlined for the IBM-7090 computer a basic success than the Baker-Nunn camera stations, since sky- program that would produce detailed information as to patrols can continuously cover the entire sky. This point when a given observation station would pass beneath was strengthened by the fact that the final orbits of reentering satellites change very rapidly, making it difficult to know where and when to point the large cameras. An all-out planned satellite recovery project seemed REENTHY FACTS a natural enterprise for SA0 to undertake, with their As an orbiting satellite begins to lose its worldwide network of MW’s, camera stations, and coin- energy, each successive orbit brings it closer and munications systems. Also, they had been engaged in closer to earth. As this ha pens, atmospheric recovery of meteorite fragments and had an excellent resistance removes more an8more energy dur- laboratory that was doing radioisotope analyses of the ing each orbit. Ultimately it will reach a point fragments. where its velocity cannot offset the pull of Dr. Whipple’s suggestion was adopted, but the MW’s earth’s gravity, and reentry begins. and SA0 scientists who would work hand-in-hand on Reentering at a speed of around 5 miles-per- the project knew full well that the chances for early second, the body begins to experience sufficient success were slim indeed. air friction about 60 miles up to cause it to heat up and glow-and thus to be visible from the . WITH A STACKED DECK ground. The final, uncontrolled plunge to What were the chances for recovering a satellite earth creates destructive temperatures that can fragment? Better than ever before, but not good enough vaporize the hardest steel. The distance from to warrant hopes for an early recovery. the first glow-point to the point where surviving Four-fifths of the earths surface is water. Of the fragments (if any) strike the ground can be one-fifth that is land, a large proportion is behind the several thousand miles. Iron Curtain. Then, too, a large part of Free World c3uunlwd on paga 10 CIVIL SERVICE JOURNAL EhDmPw 17 the satellite’s orbit during its final revolutions. From Within minutes the Milwaukee Joi/riml and local radio the computer output, a table showing such information and TV stations swung into action, informing the public \ (called a “prediction ephemeris”) was carefully prepared. that pieces of the sat&ite might be down that ared. On August 29, 1962, MW headquarters airmailed Residents finding suspicious pieces of metal were asked instruction packets to about 750 addresses, including to rush them to the Journnl. Needless to say, a strange those of MW teams, phototrack members, observatories, assortment of just plain junk was collected. colleges, universities, and other interested groups throughout the world. MW had decided to scan the DISCOVERY IN MANITOWOC skies around the clock on September 5, 6, and 7-0r Seventy-five miles north of Milwaukee, the Lake until it was known that Sputnik IV was down. Michigan port city of Manitowoc was beginning to stir The prediction ephemeris was sent to all MW teams in the early morning. Unaware of what had been seen with instructions to set up shifts to monitor each pass in other sections of Wisconsin, patrolmen Ronald Rus- of the satellite over their stations. A covering letter boldt and Marvin Bausch were cruising the streets II, said, in part: “Our main purpose will be to try out their squad car. At 5:30 a.m. they noticed in the mid- techniques and procedures for determination of the re- dle of the street a small object resembling an irregularly gion of impact by the pieces of the satellite which sur- shaped piece of cardboard.

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