http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jj1EL1p0CjbFMmLfcH2r3uBkNNPgD8S2GEGO0
Sputnik Hailed on Its 50th Anniversary
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV – 3 hours ago
MOSCOW (AP) — Goose-stepping guards and medal-bedecked space veterans laid flowers at the Kremlin wall tomb of the father of the Soviet space program Thursday as Russia celebrated the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite.
The name of Sergei Korolyov, the visionary rocket scientist whose brains and determination made it possible for the Soviet Union to thrust open the door to the space age, was a top state secret during his lifetime. It became known only became known after he died and was given a lavish state funeral.
"We take a rightful pride in the fact that it was our nation which opened the way to the stars for humanity," President Vladimir Putin said in a statement.
Ceremonies were held at the Russia's cosmonaut training center, Star City, outside Moscow, and engineers were to gather at the Academy of Sciences to recall the events leading up to the Oct. 4, 1957, launch of the 184-pound metal ball with the spiked antennas that beeped as it orbited the Earth.
Sputnik Hailed on Its 50th Anniversary
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV – 3 hours ago
MOSCOW (AP) — Goose-stepping guards and medal-bedecked space veterans laid flowers at the Kremlin wall tomb of the father of the Soviet space program Thursday as Russia celebrated the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite.
The name of Sergei Korolyov, the visionary rocket scientist whose brains and determination made it possible for the Soviet Union to thrust open the door to the space age, was a top state secret during his lifetime. It became known only became known after he died and was given a lavish state funeral.
"We take a rightful pride in the fact that it was our nation which opened the way to the stars for humanity," President Vladimir Putin said in a statement.
Ceremonies were held at the Russia's cosmonaut training center, Star City, outside Moscow, and engineers were to gather at the Academy of Sciences to recall the events leading up to the Oct. 4, 1957, launch of the 184-pound metal ball with the spiked antennas that beeped as it orbited the Earth.
