Sputnikfest 2014
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Check This Out!
Possibly the one of the earliest official government documents related to the Sputnik crash in Manitowoc on September 5, 1962. Courtesy of the Leonard David collection/Sputnik V Documents. Mr. David, proprietor of the website Space.com, which has featured Sputnikfest related stories in the past, graciously provided a scan of a telegram date-stamped September 6, 1962. The telegram, from the State Department to the US Embassy in Moscow, suggests a possible response to "press inquiries or requests by the Soviets for return of fragment." Thanks, David!
Possibly the one of the earliest official government documents related to the Sputnik crash in Manitowoc on September 5, 1962. Courtesy of the Leonard David collection/Sputnik V Documents. Mr. David, proprietor of the website Space.com, which has featured Sputnikfest related stories in the past, graciously provided a scan of a telegram date-stamped September 6, 1962. The telegram, from the State Department to the US Embassy in Moscow, suggests a possible response to "press inquiries or requests by the Soviets for return of fragment." Thanks, David!
Exclusive Preview! Sneak Preview of Custom Artwork
Created for Sputnikfest 2014 by Steve Baughman of Spindrift Art. Steve will be at Sputnikfest this year with his unique style of space-themed art.
Created for Sputnikfest 2014 by Steve Baughman of Spindrift Art. Steve will be at Sputnikfest this year with his unique style of space-themed art.
Steve says he created this
piece just because he "thought it'd be fun for the festival" and
says he is "counting down the days" until Sputnikfest.
Are you?
See in Manitowoc on September 6, 2014. Be there or be ... not Spuntik-ey!
Sunday, June 8, 2014
SPUTNIKFEST 2014 ... It's less than three months away now!
Mirro had a proud
history in Manitowoc - manufacturing aluminum goods since 1909. In 1958, only a year after Sputnik 1 made
history - Mirro debuted its Mirro Medallion line of futuristic styled aluminum
giftware.
The Mirro Medallion line is
now recognized for its mid-century modern design elements and prized by
collectors. The line of aluminum housewares
was intended as high-end giftware and was a bit pricey for its time - the
various pieces sold for between $8.00 and $22.00. There was some price resistance by consumers
and by 1960 Mirro stopped production.
Given the limited production window of only two years - the Mirro
Medallion pieces are hard to come by today.
The "atomic starburst"
emblem appearing on the pieces is quite distinctive and the design of the line
was definitely ahead of its time.
Make plans now to visit Manitowoc on September 6, 2014 for
Sputnikfest - and while you are in town, check out the demolition site on
Washington Street to see the birthplace of Mirro Medallion line.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Did Sputnik Kill The Tailfin?
"With seams on our nylons and fins on our cars, we
dreamed of the future and looked to the stars."
So went a line in a poem composed on the occasion of the
first Sputnikfest celebration.
So
whatever happened to tailfins on cars?
Several sources speculate that tailfins on cars where a casualty of Russia's
Sputnik program. While the "nifty
fifties" were "a decade of confidence about economic abundance, American power, and the potential of science and technology" they were
followed by the turbulent sixties "a period of rising political and social
tensions, when it became clear that both American power overseas and the
ability of science to solve problems had definite limits." (quoted from "Lesson 25: The Impact of the Cold War on Washington, the 1962 World's Fair")
An article from Hemmings Daily titled "Sputnik and the Death of the Tailfin" describes car design of the 1950's this way: "towering tailfins and rocket-engine
inspired taillamps; futuristic design was all the rage and chrome was
everywhere." Our cars expressed our
feelings about the future. Space was a
place man was sure to be exploring - soon.
And the men doing the exploring would be Americans.
Then came "Red Monday" and the
"beep-beep-beep" heard around the world - literally ... around the
world. The Hemmings article describes
this as a "sobering" event for America.
"Space was no longer a whimsical thing of people’s imaginations.
Space was real and we were losing."
The extravagance of finned car design, which found its apex
in the 1959 GM Firebird III (a car that never did make it to market as a
production vehicle) gave way to more conservative and "sober" car
design.
Hemmings says it is no coincidence that "pretty
much every single new 1960 model year car featured either significantly smaller
tailfins or none at all."
Make plans to visit Manitowoc, Wisconsin this year on
September 6 for Sputnikfest. Nothing "sobering"
at all about this "extravagant" event. At Sputnikfest space is still a
"whimsical thing." Indulge
your imagination. Celebrate the
past. Dream of the future and look to
the stars. And this year - create a
cardboard Sputnik spaceship car for the First Annual Cardboard Spaceship
Downhill Derby. Don't forget to put tailfins on it!
Planet Terry
Sunday, April 6, 2014
David Letterman announced his pending retirement this past
week. Here is a photo I found online of
what he looked like as a Freshman at Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis, Indiana - in 1962 - the year that the Sputnik IV space debris
crash-landed in Manitowoc.
And in honor
of David Letterman, here are the -
Top Ten Reasons to
Attend Sputnikfest 2014
9. Get up close and personal with Elvis AND Star Wars characters at the same
venue.
8. Lots of free
entertainment on the main stage - watch the Alien Pet Contest and the Miss
Space Debris Pageant.
6. See the historically accurate (sort of ... a little bit
... okay, not-so-much) re-enactment of the launch and re-entry of Sputnik IV.
5. See people (and statues) in aluminum foil hats - and Aliens.
4. Sample an out-of-this-world assortment of edible
delights.
3. Shop hand-crafted artwork from local artisans or a unique
assortment of Sputnikfest merchandise, including limited edition posters by
Tina Kugler.
1. Have your picture taken near the brass ring that marks the Sputnik IV impact site - without having to dodge traffic.
See you on September 6.
Planet Terry.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
In an effort to keep things new and fresh and exciting, Sputnikfest 2014 will feature some changes from prior years - hopefully all positive and all in the spirit of wacky, tacky fun.
Some Sputnikfest events will be put on hiatus, some will be changed up a bit, and there will be some entirely new events.
Gone for 2014: The Cosmic Cake Contest. For those of you who look forward to this event each year - please find another creative outlet at Sputnikfest this year. There are a lot of opportunities to get involved and exercise your creative talents.
Some Sputnikfest events will be put on hiatus, some will be changed up a bit, and there will be some entirely new events.
Gone for 2014: The Cosmic Cake Contest. For those of you who look forward to this event each year - please find another creative outlet at Sputnikfest this year. There are a lot of opportunities to get involved and exercise your creative talents.
NEW EVENT for 2014! A Cardboard Spaceship Downhill Derby! At an organizational meeting we were brainstorming ideas for new events - and realized we have a nice long downhill stretch of street, on the South side of the Sputnikfest grounds, which really has been underutilized in past events. We decided to start a downhill derby event - kind of similar to a soapbox derby - with a "Crash Your Own Sputnik" theme. The exact logistics and rules for the event are still being worked out and will be posted here at a later date - but this event has a lot of exciting potential and I wanted to get it out there asap to get some of you at least thinking about putting together an entry. The entry fee will be minimal. We are
looking for cardboard home-made spaceships on rolling human powered chassis. Prizes will be awarded for creativity and for best downhill time - with the spaceships "soft landing" in bales of hay at the downhill end of the street.
looking for cardboard home-made spaceships on rolling human powered chassis. Prizes will be awarded for creativity and for best downhill time - with the spaceships "soft landing" in bales of hay at the downhill end of the street.
Keep checking back for more details on this year's Sputnikfest - and see you here in Manitowoc on September 6, 2014! Planet Terry
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Sputnikfest - Against the Odds ...
Kosmos-1220 was launched into orbit in November 1980 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which was then part of the Soviet Union - and is the same launch site for Sputnik IV (of Sputnikfest fame.) Its mission as part of the Soviet naval missile targeting system ended in 1982.
The Russian Defense Ministry says the satellite burned up in the atmosphere at about 17:58 Moscow time (13:58 GMT) on February 16. Prior to the fall of the satellite, British gambling giant Ladbrokes, gave odds on likely crash sites for the satellite, for instance: 2 to 1 odds that it to land in the Pacific Ocean and 10 to 1 that it would hit Europe.
As of right now, I am a little unsure of exactly where it did end up. While some sources are saying the satellite burned up on re-entry, other stories are saying it crashed to earth in northern Saudi Arabia. All this more than 50 years after Sputnik IV made landfall in Manitowoc, Wisconsin - but after all that time, in some ways - not much has changed. Then and now, pinpointing exact trajectories of space debris re-entering the atmosphere is extremely difficult.
A story in the April-June 1963 Civil Service Journal titled "Death of Sputnik IV: Main Street U.S.A." describes how unlikely it is for a fragment of a falling satellite to be recovered, as "four-fifths of the earth's surface is water" and "of the one-fifth that is land, a large proportion is behind the Iron Curtain. Then too, a large part of the Free World land is uninhabited, forested, mountainous, etc."
Successful recovery of a satellite fragment requires first that it survive the fiery plunge through the Earth's atmosphere and then be recognized for what it was after it does impact the earth. This nearly didn't happen with Sputnik IV - as the two Manitowoc Policemen credited with the discovery in 1964 initially believed the item to be scrap metal from a local foundry and simply moved the 20-pound chunk of metal to the curb to keep it out of traffic.
I wonder what odds Ladbrokes would give for a satellite fragment landing in Manitowoc Wisconsin - nearly on the center line of a street running right past a musuem?
Sputnikfest. Defy the odds. Join us on on September 6, 2014. Planet Terry
Kosmos-1220 was launched into orbit in November 1980 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which was then part of the Soviet Union - and is the same launch site for Sputnik IV (of Sputnikfest fame.) Its mission as part of the Soviet naval missile targeting system ended in 1982.
The Russian Defense Ministry says the satellite burned up in the atmosphere at about 17:58 Moscow time (13:58 GMT) on February 16. Prior to the fall of the satellite, British gambling giant Ladbrokes, gave odds on likely crash sites for the satellite, for instance: 2 to 1 odds that it to land in the Pacific Ocean and 10 to 1 that it would hit Europe.
As of right now, I am a little unsure of exactly where it did end up. While some sources are saying the satellite burned up on re-entry, other stories are saying it crashed to earth in northern Saudi Arabia. All this more than 50 years after Sputnik IV made landfall in Manitowoc, Wisconsin - but after all that time, in some ways - not much has changed. Then and now, pinpointing exact trajectories of space debris re-entering the atmosphere is extremely difficult.
A story in the April-June 1963 Civil Service Journal titled "Death of Sputnik IV: Main Street U.S.A." describes how unlikely it is for a fragment of a falling satellite to be recovered, as "four-fifths of the earth's surface is water" and "of the one-fifth that is land, a large proportion is behind the Iron Curtain. Then too, a large part of the Free World land is uninhabited, forested, mountainous, etc."
Successful recovery of a satellite fragment requires first that it survive the fiery plunge through the Earth's atmosphere and then be recognized for what it was after it does impact the earth. This nearly didn't happen with Sputnik IV - as the two Manitowoc Policemen credited with the discovery in 1964 initially believed the item to be scrap metal from a local foundry and simply moved the 20-pound chunk of metal to the curb to keep it out of traffic.
I wonder what odds Ladbrokes would give for a satellite fragment landing in Manitowoc Wisconsin - nearly on the center line of a street running right past a musuem?
Sputnikfest. Defy the odds. Join us on on September 6, 2014. Planet Terry
Sunday, February 16, 2014
SPINDRIFT SPRAY PAINT ART AT SPUTNIKFEST 2014!
Sputnikfest always features a unique assortment of vendors - and I'd like to introduce you to
someone we have lined up for this year - Spindrift Spray Paint Art
by Steven Baughman. Sputnikfest always features a unique assortment of vendors - and I'd like to introduce you to
Steven
says he has been "into art since I could hold my first Crayola Crayon."
He has a Bachelor of Arts
Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and has studied traditional
oil/acrylic painting, drawing, art history and commercial art. Steven has held many different positions in
the commercial art arena, but says most of that stuff is done on computers
these days and he enjoys “getting my hands dirty” with his current spray paint
venture.
Steven still finds it "cool
and amazing" that "people seem to like my
paintings" - and pay
money for them! He tries to keep his
prices reasonable "none of those $700, $800, $900 paintings you might see
at other art shows" - most of his stuff is in the $50-$60 range for
finished matted and framed pieces. (very
cool!)
He sells unframed
pieces for a little as $25, hand-painted greeting cards for $5, bookmarks for
$3, and hand-painted paperweights he calls “Moon Rocks” for $5 - $8 each. A pretty good
deal considering that all his works are originals - he doesn't do any copies or
prints.
Steven enjoys painting a
variety of different subjects, but admits to being "a bit of a sy-fy space
geek" and being inspired by classic movies like Forbidden Planet, When
Worlds Collide, Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers, The Time Machine, and War Of The
Worlds. Great stuff!
Steven is looking
forward to his first Sputnikfest. I
asked him the standard Sputnikfest interview question: "Where were you in
’62?" He says he was a 7 year old kid living in Toledo,
Ohio. His parents tell him he was born there, but he secretly suspects he was born in California,
abducted by space aliens, and transported to Toledo.
Make plans now to
check out Steven's artwork at this year's Sputnikfest - and keep checking back
here for more details on this year's event!
Planet Terry
Sunday, February 9, 2014
YES - Plans are underway for the Seventh Annual Sputnikfest! Check back here in the coming weeks for details on this year's event. The Sputnikfest event organizers have had a couple meetings already and things are starting to shape up. And there will be some changes this year! I'll share with you here in coming weeks just what those changes will be. We can promise you something that won't change - this year's Sputnikfest will once again be Wacky Tacky Fun! More details to follow - Planet Terry
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