That one time in Wisconsin: When a piece of Sputnik crashed in Manitowoc
Like something out of a science fiction movie, a part of a Soviet Sputnik spacecraft crashed down into Wisconsin in 1962.
A centuries-old idiom states that what goes up must come down, but when the Soviet Union sent up Sputnik IV, a spacecraft and part of the country’s Vostok programme, they probably didn’t expect part of it to come crashing down in the middle of the night in downtown Manitowoc, Wisconsin, two years later.
On Sept. 5, 1962, more than two years after Sputnik IV was launched, a 20-pound piece of the five-ton spacecraft crash landed in the middle of Manitowoc’s 8th Street, near the city’s Rahr-West Art Museum. No one was injured by the crash, which was discovered by two Manitowoc police officers.
While the original piece of Sputnik IV was delivered back to the Soviet Union decades ago, the unusual historic event is still commemorated throughout the eastern Wisconsin city, with an exhibit at the Rahr-West Art Museum and an annual festival celebrating all things space.
Where is Manitowoc?
The county seat of Manitowoc County, Manitowoc, is located in eastern Wisconsin. The city sits alongside Lake Michigan and at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. Located along the lakeshore between the state’s largest city, Milwaukee, and one of its most popular tourist destinations, Door County, Manitowoc can be reached by traveling on Interstate 43, U.S. Routes 10 and 151, or Wisconsin Highway 42. Manitowoc can also be reached by the S.S. Badger ferry, which travels across Lake Michigan from Ludington, Michigan.
What is Sputnik?
During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union were involved in the Space Race, when both countries were competing to showcase their technological abilities. While the United States is well known for its Apollo program, which eventually landed astronauts on the moon in 1969, the Soviet Union had its own space program: the Vostok programme.
Sputnik IV, as it’s known in Western countries, or Korabl-Sputnik 1, as it was known in the Soviet Union, was the first spacecraft launched as part of the Vostok programme. The spacecraft was named Sputnik for the Russian word for satellite, but it can also mean fellow traveler.
It was sent into orbit on May 15, 1960, and was a precursor to the country’s first manned spacecraft, which would launch the following year. Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was on board, making him the first human to orbit the Earth in space. The goal of Sputnik IV was to ensure that voice transmissions could be received from the spacecraft.
When did it crash?
The 20-pound piece of spacecraft crash landed onto Manitowoc’s 8th Street on Sept. 5, 1962, at 4:30 a.m.
What happened?
The spacecraft was launched on May 15, 1960, and came crashing down into Manitowoc more than two years later, in 1962. The crash happened when attempts were made to have the spacecraft reenter Earth’s atmosphere four days after its launch, but instead, a guidance system error occurred, aiming the craft’s reentry capsule the wrong way, and Sputnik IV instead went into a higher orbit.
More than two years after the guidance system error, Sputnik IV began plunging back down toward Earth. While most of the spacecraft burned up on reentering the planet’s atmosphere, a 20-pound piece of it crashed in Manitowoc.
The crash was discovered by two Manitowoc police officers, Marvin Bauch and Ronald Rusboldt, who turned it over to authorities. The piece of Sputnik was identified by NASA and the Smithsonian, and returned to Russia, but the City of Manitowoc did receive two replicas of Sputnik IV, made by NASA.
Are there any other theories as to what happened?
It may seem like the crash was pretty straightforward, but that didn’t stop conspiracy theories from emerging. The Judica-Cordiglia brothers were two amateur radio operators living in Italy, who made audio recordings that they say are evidence that the Soviet space program covered up the deaths of cosmonauts.
Officially, Sputnik 4 was an uncrewed mission, but the brothers alleged that they intercepted an SOS message from the spacecraft. They also said that you can hear the sound of a heartbeat, as astronauts’ hearts were automatically monitored, as well as the sound of labored breathing.
Can you still see it today?
Understandably, Sputnik’s not still sitting in its crash site. After it was removed, Manitowoc police sent it to the Smithsonian, which sent it back to Russia. Although it’s not possible to see the small part of the spacecraft that crashed into Manitowoc, there are several ways that the city has commemorated the crash site, including a brass ring in the middle of 8th Street that marks the exact spot where the spacecraft crashed. Nearby, on the sidewalk, the city has also installed a commemorative plaque detailing what happened when the Russian spacecraft landed in Manitowoc.
The event is also celebrated annually, close to the crash date, Sept. 5, at Sputnikfest. The annual festival, which is held at Rahr-West Art Museum, features live music, a 5K run and walk, and an alien costume pet parade.
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