That was a very interesting post and completely new to me was the fine political craftsmanship that was behind the Americans decision to wait.
Now, it also got me thinking how magic it would be to actually see the little dot moving across the sky if you went outside a clear night in October -57. So as i'm a little interested in astronomy myself I did a little research regarding Sputniks luminosity, and found that it was probably just outside reach with the naked eye. (mag 6 to mag 8). It could be (And was) photographed with a sensitive camera. The carrier rocket on the other hand could clearly be seen apparently, as it reached mag 1. A shiny star moving across the night sky. I can't imagin how cool it would be to experience this sight.
Thanks again for this cool post, food for thougt. Love it!Hi @fredrikaa.