Sputnik 1
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Sputnik 1 was the first human-made object to orbit Earth, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. Its successful launch demonstrated that space travel was possible and marked the beginning of the Space Age, sparking intense competition between superpowers and transforming humanity's relationship with space exploration.
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Sputnik 1 (/ˈspʌtnɪk, ˈspʊtnɪk/, Russian: Спутник-1, Satellite 1), often referred to as simply Sputnik, was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for three weeks before its three silver-zinc batteries became depleted. Aerodynamic drag caused it to fall back into the atmosphere on 4 January 1958.
It was a polished metal sphere 58 cm (23 in) in diameter with four external radio antennas to broadcast radio pulses. Its radio signal was easily detectable by amateur radio operators, and the 65° orbital inclination made its flight path cover virtually the entire inhabited Earth.
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1957 in international relations1957 in the Soviet Union1958 in the Soviet UnionAmateur radio historyCold War terminologyFirst artificial satellites of a countryGeospace monitoring satellitesHistory of electronic engineeringNikita KhrushchevSatellites by typeSatellites of the Soviet UnionSource attribution