Happy Birthday Sputnik

I got a chance tonight to see the International Space Station fly overhead. The whole thing took just a few minutes from start to finish. It started out fairly dim but brightened nicely as it traveled more overhead. One thing that really caught my eye was the yellow color. I guess I expected it to be whiter for some reason. As I looked up at the little dot of light carrying actual human beings over head, I tried to imagine what it was like to see the first satellite fly overhead. Sputnik has its 50th birthday on October 4th. I’ve kind of gotten used to seeing satellites fly overhead. In fact, I’ve always seen them and never given much thought to the fact that there was a time that they weren’t flying around in orbit. I wonder if people back in 1957 would have fathomed what we’ve done with satellites to help predict the weather, guide us in our travels, and set up communications across the globe. In another 50 years who knows what will be in place based on technologies of today.