Since the unseen fiery deaths of Sputniks I and II, the edge of space near the earth had belonged to three small U.S. satellites, playing like baby bluefish in an ocean. Last week the Russians launched a shark: a cone-shaped satellite weighing 2,925 Ibs., not counting the empty rocket casing on a separate orbit.
The orbiting mass of Sputnik III (official name: 1958 Delta) may not be more than dog-carrying Sputnik II, which remained attached to its rocket. The Russians gave the weight of Sputnik II's payload as 1,120 Ibs., but the whole assembly,...
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