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The Lower the Faster. As Sputnik entered its second week, there was no evidence that it was losing altitude, but its carrier seemed to be feeling the strain. The carrier is probably a large, empty cylinder with a lot of air resistance for its weight, so the thin air at orbit level takes more energy from it. But as the carrier loses energy to the air, it does not lose speed. It spirals down to a lower orbit and speeds up. The nearer an orbiting body is to the earth, the faster it must move. The earth's natural moon, for instance, moves on its distant orbit (240,000 miles from the earth) at only 2,355.2 m.p.h., which is one-seventh of low-flying Sputnik's speed.
Dr. Joseph A. Hynek of the Smithsonian Observatory estimated that after the first week the carrier had descended about ten miles from the apogee of its original orbit and increased its speed by about 20 m.p.h. This put it far ahead of the satellite proper, and made it spiral lower. There it could be getting hot from air friction, but it would probably last for at least two more weeks. Until Sputnik itself shows signs of dropping or speeding up, its date of fiery death cannot be predicted. Dr. John P. Hagen, chief of the U.S. satellite program, thinks that Sputnik will stay up there for more than a year.
High-powered telescopic cameras soon to go into operation will pinpoint the flying satellite within a few feet of distance and a few milliseconds of time. Then its orbit can be tracked with enough precision to observe the effect of variations in the earth's gravitation. The satellite's radio signals (even without the key of the code) will be useful in studying the electrified layers in the upper atmosphere. Non-Russian scientists may even learn a little about the density of the air at orbit altitude, by clocking how fast the satellite loses energy.
"Americans Love Cars." Most U.S. scientists were in a congratulatory mood, but they could not find individual Russians to congratulate for the success of Project Sputnik. The Soviet government gave out no names, announcing merely that a large number of scientists, engineers and industrial workers did the job.
At last week's international conference at Barcelona on space flight, three Russian delegates were the heroes. Their leader, portly, amiable Leonid I. Sedov, 50, was credited in the non-Russian press as being the father of the Soviet satellite. He is an expert on hydrodynamics and gas dynamics, and has a resounding title (head of the Natural Sciences Department of the Scientific and Technical Council of the U.S.S.R. Ministry of Education). But there is no real evidence that he is an outstanding satellite scientist. He is known as "the best-dressed Russian scientist," and he has traveled regularly in the outside-Russia world. Earlier this year, he made himself slightly conspicuous cavorting in a Manhattan nightclub. At Barcelona last week he basked in his nation's glory and shot off his mouth. "You Americans," he beamingly told a U.S. scientist, "have a better standard of living than we have. But the American loves his car, his refrigerator, his house. He does not, as the Russians do, love his country."