We all know the rest of the story. Sputnik was launched by the Soviet Union in early October, 1957, thanks to a plucky team of scientists and Khrushchev’s desire to beat the Americans.
On 5 August 1955, eminent Soviet scientists Mikhail Khrunichev, Vasiliy Ryabikov, and Sergey Korolev wrote a second letter to Soviet leaders Khrushchev and Bulganin, almost pleading for them to understand the importance of putting an artificial satellite into orbit. Their first letter, penned in 1954 by Korolev, paved the way for basic satellite designs to be funded, albeit with not much enthusiasm from on high. By 1955, as we see in this translation of the second letter, the American press was making predictions about an artificial satellite, and Korolev and Co. had also heard that the Yanks were also working hard on the right solution. This apparently caught Khrushchev’s attention, quicker than a hot-buttered ear of corn.
The second letter, marked Top Secret at the time, was translated and is offered below.
5 August 1955
Top Secret
(Special folder)
Copy No. 2
To Comrade N.S. KHRUSHCHEV
and Comrade N.A. BULGANIN
Because of the reports that have appeared in the American press, stating that in 1957–58 the creation of a small-sized artificial satellite of the Earth will be carried out, we report:
The current state of rocket technology and its adjacent areas allows the creation of an artificial Earth satellite in the coming years.
The Earth satellite is a projectile with a horizontal flight speed of at least 7.9 km/sec. At such a speed, the projectile will revolve around the earth along a closed trajectory-orbit, i.e. it will turn into an artificial satellite of the Earth.
Through the use of a satellite equipped with appropriate equipment, it is possible to obtain important data necessary for the further development of science and military technology: about the ionosphere, cosmic radiation, very high layers of the atmosphere, geophysics, mechanics, and radiophysics; it will be possible to carry out photoreconnaissance of a territory to obtain accurate maps, bunched in a single coordinate system.
The challenge of creating an artificial satellite is receiving special attention in the US.
There are several Earth satellite projects, of which the von Braun interplanetary station project (named for the German designer of the V-2 rocket) and a satellite project weighing about 45 kg deserve attention.
Von Braun’s project envisages the creation of a rocket weighing 7,000 tons (25 times the weight of the R-7 rocket). To create an interplanetary station in orbit, it will be necessary to launch 12-14 such rockets.
The second project proposes the creation of a satellite weighing 45 kg making use of existing rockets, and is intended for scientific purposes. The implementation of this project will take 2-3 years.
According to the latest press reports, the US Government decided to create such a satellite and launch it during the International Geophysical Year (July 1957 – December 1958).
In the Soviet Union, a group of scientists and designers conducted preliminary research on this issue and established the technical feasibility of creating the simplest Earth satellite based on the R-7 rocket, weighing 1.5–2 tons. The total launch weight of the fueled rocket with an artificial satellite will be about 270 tons. The satellite will orbit the Earth in 1 hour and 40 minutes.
The satellite’s altitude above the Earth’s surface will be between 200 and 700 km. Since, according to current data, there is still an atmosphere at such altitudes, albeit a very rarefied one, the satellite will gradually lose speed and its stay at these altitudes will be 10–50 days. When entering the dense layers of the atmosphere, the satellite burns up. The solution to this problem will require the hard work of many of the country’s newly engaged scientific and design organizations.
It will be necessary to create a new design of the main section (the satellite), and relatively minor changes must be made to the R-7 rocket itself. The serious challenge in creating a satellite will be the development of scientific equipment for various studies and the transmission of the received data from the satellite to Earth.
Launching the satellite will be possible after optimizing the R-7 rocket and developing the main satellite section, i.e. approximately 1957–58.
The approximate cost of all work related to the creation of the artificial satellite (not including the cost of the R-7 rocket) will be less than 250 million rubles.
At the same time, it should be noted that combining the development of the R-7 rocket and the satellite will allow, if necessary, to view the development of the R-7 rocket as the preparatory stage for the implementation of an artificial Earth satellite.
Given that the creation of an artificial Earth satellite opens up new prospects in the development of science and military technology, it would be considered expedient to start work on its creation in the near future.
If our proposal is approved, the necessary measures will be prepared and presented for your consideration within 1.5–2 months.
M. KHRUNICHEV
V. RYABIKOV
S. KOROLEV
Translation © 2025 by Michael Estes and TranslatingHistory.org
Translating History 