PS-1 (Prosteishiy Sputnik / Simplest Satellite)
PS-1 (프로스테이쉬 스푸트니크)
The code designation of the world's first artificial satellite, approved by the USSR Council of Ministers on 15 February 1957. PS stands for Prosteishiy Sputnik (Простейший Спутник), 'Simplest Satellite': a deliberately minimalist design chosen by Sergei Korolev after the scientific instruments for the massive Object D fell behind schedule, threatening to let the Americans launch first. The polished aluminum sphere, weighing 83.6 kg and carrying only a radio transmitter and batteries, sent its beeping signal across the globe on 4 October 1957, inaugurating the space age. The name encapsulates Korolev's pragmatic gambit: trading scientific complexity for political priority.
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- Wikipedia (RU) кодовое обозначение ПС-1 (Простейший Спутник-1); решение Королёва заменить научную лабораторию простейшим спутником для сохранения приоритета (докладная записка, одобрение 15 февраля 1957 г.)
- Wikipedia (EN) 'Object PS' designation: PS meaning 'prosteishiy sputnik' or 'elementary satellite'; approved by Council of Ministers 15 February 1957; the stripped-down design to beat the US
- americanscientist.org Lev Zelenyi and Olga Zakutnyaya, American Scientist (Sept–Oct 2017): Korolev replaced Object D with PS-1 (prosteishyi sputnik 1, 'the simplest satellite'), motivated by fear the US would launch first; the name as a deliberate statement of minimalism