The Week in Space History- October 7th-13th

World Space Week!

We’re at the tail end of world space week, which runs from October 4th to October 10th.

October 4th is the launch of the space age. [Sputnik beeping in background] Sputnik launched on October 4th, 1957, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

The Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial satellite to Earth orbit. Although its scientific value was minimal, it was a propaganda coup for the Soviets, even if they didn’t immediately realize that fact.

Check out this article by Roger Launius about Sputnik and the start of the space age.

Let’s head back to the 17th Century-

The Kepler Supernova was discovered by the famed German astronomer Johannes Kepler in October 1604.

A supernova is an explosion of incredible power that happens when large stars reach the end of their lives. Our sun is too small to become a supernova at the end of its life.

This striking false-color composite image shows the remains of Kepler’s supernova. “The red, green and blue colors show low…