Korabl-Sputnik 1

Soviet spacecraft

Korabl-Sputnik 1

The Korabl-Sputnik 1 rocket depicted on a 1960 stamp

Names| Sputnik 4
Mission type| Technology
Operator| Soviet space program
Harvard designation| 1960 Epsilon 3
COSPAR ID| 1960-005A
SATCAT no.| 36
Mission duration| 4 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type| Vostok-1P
Manufacturer| OKB-1
Launch mass| 4,540 kilograms (10,010 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date| 15 May 1960, 00:00:05 (1960-05-15UTC00:00:05Z) UTC
Rocket| Vostok-L 8K72
Launch site| Baikonur 1/5
End of mission
Disposal| Failed deorbit
c. 19 May 1960
Decay date| 5 September 1962 (1962-09-06)[2]
Landing site| 44°05′56″N 87°39′28″W﻿ / ﻿44.098951°N 87.657689°W﻿ / 44.098951; -87.657689
Orbital parameters
Reference system| Geocentric
Regime| Low Earth
Eccentricity| 0.02879
Perigee altitude| 290 kilometres (160 nmi)[1]
Apogee altitude| 675 kilometres (364 nmi)
Inclination| 65.02 degrees
Period| 94.25 minutes
Epoch| 1960-05-15 00:00:00 UTC

Vostok program

Korabl-Sputnik 2 →

Korabl-Sputnik 1[3] (Russian: Корабль Спутник 1 meaning Vessel Satellite 1), also known as Sputnik 4 in the West,[2] was the first test flight of the Soviet Vostok programme, and the first Vostok spacecraft. It was launched on May 15, 1960. Though Korabl-Sputnik 1 was uncrewed, it was a precursor to the first human spaceflight, Vostok 1. Its mass was 4,540 kilograms (10,010 lb), of which 1,477 kilograms (3,256 lb) was instrumentation.[1]

The spacecraft, the first of a series of spacecraft used to investigate the means for crewed space flight, contained scientific instruments, a television system, and a self-sustaining biological cabin with a dummy of a man. It was designed to study the operation of the life support system and the stresses of flight. The spacecraft radioed both extensive telemetry and prerecorded voice communications. After four days of flight, the retro rocket was fired and the descent module was separated from its equipment module, but because the spacecraft was not in the correct flight attitude when its retro fired, the descent module did not reenter the atmosphere as planned.[2]

Ring marking the location of the impact in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

The descent module re-entered the atmosphere on September 5, 1962, while the equipment module re-entered on October 15, 1965.[4] A 20-pound piece of the descent module landed in Manitowoc, Wisconsin in the northern United States.[5][6]

Giovanni Battista Judica Cordiglia, who set up his own amateur listening station at Torre Bert near Turin, is reported to have claimed that radio signals were received on November 28, 1960, which could have originated from this spacecraft; the spacecraft is known to have radioed prerecorded voice communications. It has led some to believe a conspiracy theory that the spacecraft may have been crewed by one of the Lost Cosmonauts.[7]

Historical marker on the sidewalk, adjacent to the location of where the Sputnik IV fragment was recovered that is marked by the ring in the roadway

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "1960-005A (ε1) - Kosmičeskij korabl' 1". Space 40 encyclopedia.
2. ^ a b c "Sputnik 4 - NSSDC ID: 1960-005A". NASA.
3. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
4. ^ Hall and Shayer, p.122
5. ^ [About Sputnik | Manitowoc, WI - Official Website]
6. ^ "Sputnik IV Spot Is Marked". Manitowoc Herald-Times. 26 January 1978.
7. ^ "Interview with Gian Cordiglia". Archived from the original on 2017-08-21. Retrieved 2007-05-14.

## References

[edit]

* Hall, Rex; Shayler, David (May 18, 2001). The rocket men: Vostok & Voskhod, the first Soviet manned spaceflights. Springer. p. 350\. ISBN 1-85233-391-X.

* Spaceflight portal
* Soviet Union portal

* v
* t
* e

Vostok programme

Uncrewed|

* Korabl-Sputnik 1
* Vostok-1K No.1
* Korabl-Sputnik 2
* Korabl-Sputnik 3
* Vostok-1K No.4
* Korabl-Sputnik 4
* Korabl-Sputnik 5

Crewed|

* Vostok 1
* Vostok 2
* Vostok 3
* Vostok 4
* Vostok 5
* Vostok 6

Cancelled|

Vostok 7 to 13 (incorporated into Voskhod programme)

Related|

* Gagarin's Start (launch pad)
* First Orbit (2011 documentary)
* Gagarin: First in Space (2013 docudrama)

* v
* t
* e

← 1959

Orbital launches in 1960

1961 →

* Discoverer 9
* Discoverer 10
* Midas 1
* Pioneer 5
* S-46
* TIROS-1
* Transit 1B
* Solrad mass simulator
* Discoverer 11
* Luna E-3 No.1
* Luna E-3 No.2
* Echo 1
* Korabl-Sputnik 1
* Midas 2
* Transit 2A
* SOLRAD 1
* Discoverer 12
* Vostok-1K No.1
* Discoverer 13
* Echo 1A
* Courier 1A
* Discoverer 14
* Korabl-Sputnik 2
* Discoverer 15
* Pioneer P-30
* Courier 1B
* Mars 1M No.1
* Samos 1
* Mars 1M No.2
* Discoverer 16
* Explorer 8
* Discoverer 17
* TIROS-2
* Transit 3A
* SOLRAD 2
* Korabl-Sputnik 3
* Explorer S-56
* Discoverer 18
* Pioneer P-31
* Discoverer 19
* Vostok-1K No.4

Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets).
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