Soviet Space Expert James Oberg Writes that “Palin was Right” About Sputnik

conservatives4palin ^ | Friday January 28, 2011

[Bigtigermike]

Instapundit notes that Soviet space expert James Oberg supports Governor Palin’s comments on Sputnik:

I’m seeing up close how “Palin Derangement Syndrome” can compel otherwise intelligent people to foam at the mouth and babble nonsense to prove they’re right and she’s wrong.

The historical view is that the early Soviet victories in the Space Race led to the US response of the Apollo program, whose triumph validated the superiority of US space technology — which had profound diplomatic, military, commercial, and cultural consequences. When Reagan challenged the USSR with Strategic Defense in the 1980s, Apollo had given that challenge credibility — and the same pundits in the West and in Russian who pooh-poohed SDI had also pooh-poohed the odds of Apollo working.

Proven wrong once, they lost credibility when Gorbachyov had to decide when/.if to pull the plug on the USSR’s own hideously expensive space weapons programs (eg, Polyus-Skif and Buran). Soviet leadership came to believe, rightly or wrongly, that SDI was a lethal threat to them, based on the success of Apollo that had only been made possible by the stinging US defeats in the early Space Race, It’s more complicated, but the essence is, Palin was right: the Soviets sowed the seed of their own collapse by setting off the Space Race.

James Edward Oberg (often known as Jim Oberg) is an American space journalist and historian, regarded as an expert on the Russian space program.

[exit82]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the history was that Sputnik, the size of a watermelon, was the first orbiter prior to Mercury.

The US's first satellite was Explorer 1 in 1958. That preceded the Mercury program.

[shield]

Of course, Sarah Palin was right....the left are the true dummies...

[meadsjn]

On Sputnik and the fall of the USSR she has a huge timeline problem. Sputnik was 1957. The USSR didnt collapse until 1989 and that was Reagan that did it, not Sputnik. The Soviet's went broke on the military because Reagan stood up to them. Just a few years earlier under Carter they were rolling into country after country hardly broke from Sputnik in 1957. Read Ann Coulters book Treason.

Ann Coulter writes some good stuff, but I don't recall seeing her labeled a "Soviet Space Expert".

[TigersEye]

You betcha Sarah Palin was right. She was born and raised in the USA so she knows American history.

[FlingWingFlyer]

The bedwetting, girlymen DemocRATS are wrong! Girls are smart! A hell of a lot smarter than liberal girlymen.

[onyx]

You betcha!

[dr_lew]

Sputnik 1 had a diameter of 23" and weighed 184 lbs. The linked article has a lot of interesting information about the satellite and the event.

I remember the headline in the NEWARK EVENING NEWS, SPUTNIK IN ORBIT, and I remember going outside to see it go over. I was only 9 years old, but I think the extent of panic and humiliation in the USA is exaggerated in retrospect. It was a matter of being beaten out by an underdog, but the competition had already been initiated by the drive for rockets suitable for ICBMs. Things were moving fast in those days.

[Wallop the Cat]

Yep, you’re absolutely right. Palin was 100% correct in blaming the collapse of the Soviet Union on Sputnik, just as she was 100% correct that the answer to the economic malaise is to have more potato donut shops. She is not ready for prime time.

[Bookie1066]

With the education system in this country how many people under 40 know what Sputnik was?

[Bigtigermike]

Troll alert

[Wallop the Cat]

Oh dear, someone has expressed a negative opinion about the Alaskan princess. He must be a troll. Pathetic defense.

[libertyhoundusnr]

Odd the “Tear down This Wall” was met with “Put the Damn Thing Back Up” by the West Berliners. They are now smothered with lazy freeloading socialists. They knew.

[dr_lew]

She is not ready for prime time.

We may note that the Not Ready For Primetime Players achieved notable success.

[tcrlaf]

bookmark

[Gator113]

Oops, I screwed up. My dimensions must have been for a later version, not #1.

BUT, it still weighed as much as Michelle’s butt. ;>)

I remember the excitement of those times.

I believe that the most important achievement of the space program back then, was the creation of dreams for a generation. Obama would like to kill those dreams.

[Bigtigermike]

I’m not the one misconstruing a legitimate argurment for more businesses that are not asking for government handouts but can be successful if given the tools to prosper, ok Obama? Sheesh

[dr_lew]

Obama would like to kill those dreams.

Not trying to be generous, my feeling is that he has no inkling of them.

[Semper Mark]

^5

Good one.

[alexander_busek]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the history was that Sputnik, the size of a watermelon, was the first orbiter prior to Mercury.

Gator113:

The size of the Sputnik was 30.0 m / 98 ft (height) with a diameter of 2.99 m (9.8 ft). Its mass was 267,000 kg (590,000 lbs).

alexander_busek:

Wrong, terribly wrong!

To begin with, one must differentiate between the actual orbiter (the satellite) and the two-stage launch vehicle (which immediately fell back to Earth).

Sputnik 1 launched on October 4, 1957. The satellite (i.e., the "thing" that eventually reached orbit and went "beep-beep") was 58 cm (about 23 in) in diameter and weighed approximately 83.6 kg (about 183 lb).

The launch vehicle - the R-7 - was 34 m long, 3 m in diameter and weighed 280 metric tons.

Regards,

[american_ranger]

YOU ARE WRONG!
Sputnik was small.
Perchance you were talking about the rocket that launched Sputnik.