The first artificial satellite as well as the first space craft to be successfully launched into space from the orbit of Earth was Sputnik 1. It was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. Sputnik 1 was a small, spherical spacecraft equipped with radio transmitters that emitted "beeps" that could be detected from Earth. Its launch marked the beginning of the space age and the start of the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States. Sputnik 1 orbited Earth for about three months before burning up in the atmosphere upon reentry.
On Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union inaugurated the Space Age with the launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. Launched as a contribution to the International Geophysical Year (IGY), Sputnik weighed 184 pounds and orbited the Earth every 90 minutes, sending out a signal that amateur radio operators around the world could monitor. Sputnik’s launch caught the United States by surprise, beginning a space race between the two countries, as each superpower sought to achieve preeminence in the high frontier. The United States met the challenge by launching its own satellites and creating NASA to oversee its civilian space program. The competition led to the rapid development of space capabilities by both countries, first putting animals and then humans in space and, 12 years after Sputnik’s launch, landing the first men on the Moon.
1. **Launch:**
Sputnik 1 was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in present-day Kazakhstan.
It was carried into space atop a modified R-7 intercontinental ballistic
missile.
2. **Design:** Sputnik 1
was a spherical satellite with a diameter of about 58 centimeters (23 inches).
It was made of highly polished aluminum alloy. The satellite had four long
antennas that transmitted radio signals back to Earth.
3. **Function:** Sputnik
1's primary purpose was to demonstrate the feasibility of launching an
artificial satellite into Earth orbit. It transmitted radio signals at a
frequency of 20.005 and 40.002 MHz, which could be received by radio operators
around the world. These signals allowed scientists to track the satellite's
orbit and gather information about the density of the Earth's upper atmosphere.
4. **Impact:** The launch
of Sputnik 1 had a profound impact on the world. It signaled the beginning of
the space age and marked the start of the space race between the Soviet Union
and the United States. The successful launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union
caught the world by surprise and led to increased investment in science, technology,
and education, particularly in the United States.
5. **Orbit:** Sputnik 1
completed an orbit around the Earth approximately every 96 minutes. It remained
in orbit for about three months before reentering the Earth's atmosphere and
burning up.
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