‘HISTORIANS say there were three shocks to America: Pearl Harbor, 9/11 and Sputnik,” says David Hoffman, director of the new documentary “Sputnik Mania.”
The launching of the first artificial satellite on Oct. 4, 1957, not only inaugurated the space race but, as the movie makes clear, dealt a crushing blow to America’s national psyche and amped up the Cold War.
The fascinating film opens Friday, and during the first weekend of its two-week run at the IFC Center, one of the original Sputniks (the Soviets made multiples) will be on display. Hoffman offers this illustrated tour of the first space probe.
* The satellite’s orb is just 23 inches in diameter.
* It weighs 184 pounds and took about 98 minutes to circle the earth.
* “It’s completely handmade. The Soviets had no machinery. Every screw was done by hand.”
* The satellite’s skin, made of an aluminum alloy, was shiny so that Sputnik could be seen from Earth – the Soviet’s goal.
* Sputnik’s antennas (just less than 3 meters in length) were used to broadcast a beeping sound. “The beep was intended to prove that it was there. Russian scientists were afraid American scientists would say it didn’t exist. People thought that beep was affecting brains, opening garage doors.”
* After its launch, Sputnik became a popular design element. It was incorporated into furniture, jewelry, lamps and Christmas ornaments. “America is never so nationalistic that we don’t love pop culture.”