For sale: Sputnik 1, original condition
Car dealer offers Soviet satellite with no miles on the clock.
10 June 2003

MICHAEL HOPKIN

Sputnik's beepings had the US worried.
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Fancy owning a piece of space history? A US classic-car dealer is selling what he claims is an original version of the Soviet Sputnik 1 satellite.

It's a souvenir from the dawn of the space age, says George Stauffer, who is asking US$39,000 for the item on his website, staufferclassics.com. Sputnik 1 was the first man-made satellite to orbit the Earth.

Sputnik 1 is an icon of the cold war space race. Launched in October 1957, the 60-centimetre orb caused widespread gnashing of teeth among US politicians, who feared that they were falling behind their Soviet rivals.

The satellite itself burned up on re-entry after 92 days in orbit. But historians say that Soviet scientists built anywhere between four and twenty more models, for use in testing, demonstrations and as diplomatic gifts. Nobody can say for sure how many authentic Sputniks exist, although many museums claim to own one.

"The problem is a lack of documentation," says Cathleen Lewis, curator of the Russian and Soviet space collection at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. "The Soviets were incredibly proprietary about this kind of information."

Stauffer, who is widely reputed to own two Sputnik 1 models, claims that the item for sale is genuine. He says he has a certificate of authentication from Russia's Museum of Technical Achievements.

Interest in Sputnik has surged since the online auction company Ebay advertised a similar sale last week. Sovietski Collection, a San Diego-based company that sells Soviet memorabilia, claimed to have a genuine Sputnik 1 up for grabs to the highest bidder.

Ebay aborted the sale on Thursday, however, amid a flurry of fraudulent bids. One japester posted an offer of $99,999,999. "We hope to try again in the next few days, but that's [Ebay's] call," says a spokesperson for Sovietski.

Stauffer, meanwhile, is watching developments with interest. "If people are bidding sums like this, I might want to ask a bit more," he says.

© Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2003