Today
on Far Future Horizons we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Space
Age.
On October 4th, 1957 Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, was launched and humanity entered the Space Age.
On October 4th, 1957 Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, was launched and humanity entered the Space Age.
To mark the occasion we will focus our attention on those ever present orbital sentinels and eyes in the sky that have become the indispensable tools of our technological civilization – the artificial satellite. Earth observation satellites continually monitor our world’s weather, environment and human activity (both civilian and military). Telecommunication satellites are the nerve cells of the twenty-first century’s telecommunications network.
Since October 4th, 1957, with the launching of Sputnik I, satellites have transformed our world into a global village. As we enter the second phase of the Space Age we can expect satellites to play an ever increasing role in serving and maintaining human civilization in the areas of long term weather forecasting, global surveillance and perhaps even in controlling the world’s weather and climate.
To explore the role of the artificial satellite in our modern world we look back in time to the dawn of the space age with two very informative documentaries: Disney's Eyes in Outer Space (1959) and NOVA's Sputnik
Declassified.
The entire collection of Walt Disney Treasures - Tomorrow Land: Disney in Space and Beyond is available on DVD from Amazon.com.
NOVA's Sputnik Declassified can be purchased on DVD from PBS Home video.
