ONE: Fifty years ago in October, the Soviet Union took a head start in the space race, leaving its competitor, the United States behind by launching the first artificial satellite in space. It was of the size of a beach ball and had a diameter of 58cm. It was called Sputnik meaning ‘fellow traveller’. How much time did it take to orbit the earth?

TWO: The Soviets consolidated their victory when they sent the first living being -- a dog called Laika in space 30 days after the launch of the first man-made body in space. The satellite -- Sputnik II, carrying a canine passenger weighed 1,121lbs. The earlier one weighed only 184 lbs. What was the gender of the dog and what was its fate?

THREE: The Soviets had planned sending four Sputniks in space during the initial stage of space travel but they sent only three. The third was a space laboratory, which studied the earth’s magnetic field and its radiation belt. It was launched in May 15, 1958. How long did it remain in space?

FOUR: It is said that the launch of Sputnik I, which came as a surprise to the world at large and a shock to the US, had a ‘Pearl Harbour’ type of effect on the Americans. Responding to the challenge, the US managed to send an 18lb satellite into space. It was termed ‘flopnik’ by a London daily. What was its real name?

FIVE: The Soviets took another lead in April 1961 when they sent the first man in space. He orbited round the earth only once and spent 108 minutes. The spaceship was Vostok I. What was the name of the cosmonaut?

SIX: Twenty-three days later, a spaceship called Freedom 7 carried the first non-Soviet or shall we say the first American in space. He was Alan Shepard but it was not until the following year, on February 20, 1962, to be precise, that the first American orbited the Earth successfully. He did that not once but thrice. Name?

SEVEN: The first woman to enter space was Valentina Tereshkova, and as her name suggests she was a Russian. That was on June 16, 1963. The first flight with more than one crew member was also a Soviet space flight. It happened on October 12, 1964. But in one field the Americans had already taken a lead over the Russians -- on August 10, 1960, a 200lbs re-entry capsule was recovered. At which spot on earth did they recover it?

EIGHT: The first satellite to impact the moon was Luna 2. It happened on September 12, 1959 but on October 4, exactly two years after the launch of Sputnik I, Luna 3 took photographs of the far side of the moon — the side we don't get to see. Which country launched Luna 3?

NINE: The first time a non-American and non-Soviet satellite was launched in space was on September 28, 1962. The satellite weighing 320 lbs was named Alouette. Which country's satellite was it and which country hurled it into space?

TEN: With the landing of the first man on the moon the Americans took an unassailable lead but before that, in July 1962, they had achieved another milestone when they ushered in the satellite communication age with the launch of a 170-lb satellite called Telestar. The transmission linked which three countries?

ANSWERS

(1) 98 minutes (2) It was feminine (bitch is a bad word, hence I am avoiding it) and couldn’t sustain the rigours of space travel. Laika was the first casualty in space travel (3) Two years only (4) Explorer I (5) Yuri Gagarin (6) John Glenn (7) In the Pacific Ocean (8) U.S.S.R. (9) It was a Canadian satellite that was sent into space by their neighbours, the Americans (10) US, UK and France.

— Compiled by A-N