Sputnik – Declassified
Review Questions
Name: _____________________
1. What was the international situation when both the US and Russia had
developed nuclear weapons?
2. When the Russians launched Sputnik in 1957, how did that change the balance of
international power?
3. How was the launching as a satellite by the Russians viewed as a failure by the
US space program and how was launching a missile related to the nuclear
standoff?
4. What was Eisenhower’s main experience before becoming the US president?
5. How complex was Sputnik?
6. How long did it operate?
7. How long did it orbit?
8. Who was the German engineer that advocated that the US could launch a
satellite?
9. How was the launch of Sputnik compared to Pearl Harbor?
10. What was Eisenhower’s main interest in intelligence?
11. What did James Killian from MIT recommend to Eisenhower to get intelligent
information?
12. How could a satellite get Eisenhower the intelligence he wanted without
provoking a nuclear war with Russia?
13. Where did the engineers that developed the US first missiles come from?
14. What was von Braun’s ultimate dream?
15. Where was the German rocket research and manufacturing facility?
16. What was the first major problem in the German built rocket motors?
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17. What is learned by failures?
18. How was the engine cooled?
19. After the engine solution what became the next big problem to solve for the
German rockets?
20. How did the new steering system on the rockets work?
21. What was the final name of the von Braun rocket used in World War II?
22. What was the major use of the V2 by the Germans?
23. What cities were the first V2s fired at?
24. How many V2s were launched in World War II and how many people did they
kill?
25. Where did the Germans get most of the labor to build the V2s?
26. How many people more died in producing the V2 than it killed in WW II?
27. At the end of WW II what was the winning nation’s desire about the
Peenemunde team of engineers?
28. Why did von Braun choose to come to the US rather than Russia after WW II?
29. Where did von Braun’s team end up working in the US?
30. Where was the US engineers from that joined von Braun’s rocket team?
31. What was the name of the follow on rocket from the V2?
32. What was the purpose of the new rocket?
33. Even though the Germans were working on ballistic missiles, what was their
main interest?
34. Why could the Red Stone rocket not put up a satellite?
35. How does Newton’s cannon ball get into orbit?
36. How much is velocity is needed to keep a satellite in orbit?
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37. What did von Braun have to do to the Red Stone rocket to get it to be able to
launch a satellite?
38. What is the last stage of the Red Stone for an orbital launch?
39. What was von Braun’s unique talent besides being a brilliant engineer?
40. How was Eisenhower’s use of satellites different than von Braun’s?
41. What was the problem with initially using satellites for spying?
42. Would flying a satellite over Russia be a provocation to war?
43. What was Eisenhower’s plan to get established the international rules for the use
of space over every country?
44. What was the plan to do something in space for the International Geophysical
Year for 1957-1958?
45. What was the special announcement that the US and Russia both made about
what they would do during IGY?
46. What is the real purpose for which Eisenhower wants to launch a satellite for
IGY?
47. Who were competing in the US to build the rocket and launch the first US
satellite?
48. What unique technology at the California Technology University in California
had been developing that was useful for von Braun’s rocket?
49. Who did von Braun select to build the first satellite?
50. What was the rocket called that was to be used NRL?
51. What happened when the president picked NRL over von Braun’s team to
launch the first satellite?
52. What was the possible reason that NRL was selected for the first satellite launch?
53. Did von Braun stop working on launching the first satellite when NRL was
selected?
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54. How did the von Braun team continue working on the satellite launch?
55. Where was the JPL satellite stored when there was an inspection of the von
Braun work?
56. Who was the science investigator for the JPL satellite?
57. What was done with the Red Stone rocket for satellite launching while waiting to
launch permission?
58. How did the US get intelligence photographs from Russia while waiting for
satellite development?
59. Who was the audience that the Russians expected to confirm the launch of
Sputnik?
60. What was of major value to the US for the Russians having launched Sputnik?
61. How did the general public feel about the launch of Sputnik?
62. What was in Sputnik II satellite?
63. What happened with the first Vanguard launch?
64. What did the Red Stone Jupiter C explorer satellite look like?
65. What did Van Allen learn from his satellites?
66. What agency for space was created in 1958?
67. What did the second explorer satellite discovered about the earth?
68. What rocket was von Braun’s greatest achievement?
69. What was the first spy satellite launched?
70. How did it take photos?
71. Was it successful?
72. How is Eisenhower now viewed as compared to when he was still president?
73. What were some of the changes in the US because of Sputnik’s launch?
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