User:Vtaylor/Engineering Design challenge/example

Here is the "solution" and the story about it. Listed are the steps in the Engineering Design Process and additional information about that step in the process. The basic engineering concepts that are important to the story are listed as well. If you had to come up with this solution, what questions would you need answered?

Sputnik 1
In the 1950s the United States and Russia were working to open the next frontier - space. Once the technical difficulties of launching a man-made satellite where solved, there were lots of ideas for using them for telecommunications, espionage, research, and navigation. The first step was getting something into orbit around the earth that could communicate its presence back to observers on earth.



On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union sent into orbit Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite in history. Sputnik 1 was the first of thousands of artificial satellites launched into space from earth.

Design Challenge : the space race

Using the technologies available at the time (and inventing some new ones specifically for the purpose) engineers and scientists worked to identify and solve thousands of problems of building and launching a man-made object from earth. Each question corresponds to a step in the Engineering Design Process.


 * Ask (What? Ask questions, understand the need, identify the problem)


 * Imagine (So what? Imagine, brainstorm, explore)


 * Plan (Now what? Plan, design)


 * Create (Do it. Create, try it out)


 * Improve (If this then what? Improve, make it better)

Engineering vocabulary, concepts

Show and Tell Now it is your turn. Here are some challenges for you to work on...
 * Tell others about what you have learned
 * Add your questions to the comments section

Learn more...
 * Artificial satellite - engineering.wikia article, also satellite


 * On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union sent into orbit Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite in history.


 * about the size of a beach ball (58 cm.or 22.8 inches in diameter), weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path


 * with four external radio antennae to broadcast radio pulses


 * Spacecraft