Sputnik 1 was protected by a cone-shaped payload fairing while attached to the rocket. The launch was a roller coaster ride, ...

It was the beginning of the space age: the launch by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 of Sputnik 1, the world’s first artificial satellite. With the Soviet Union and the US locked in an ...

Sputnik 1 was the object that began the era of space exploration when it was launched from the USSR in 1957. Many people will remember the wonder of hearing the regular 'beeps' of the radio signal ...

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Both nations endeavored to perfect their satellites and launch first, and on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union sent Sputnik 1 into orbit. Just a month after propelling the first satellite into ...

In Washington’s policy circles, warnings about America’s declining space dominance have become a familiar refrain. Yet these concerns are not mere bureaucratic hand-wringing — they reflect a ...

A surprise advance in technology. In 1957, Russia launched Sputnik 1, the first space satellite and caught the world off guard, especially the United States. Sputnik caused the U.S. to move ...

Johnson, calling the Sputnik launch “a second Pearl Harbor”, held ... had died of overheating before four orbits were completed 1. Nonetheless, even a month later, Vanguard could not lift ...

And rightly so — even though Sputnik was remarkably primitive compared to today’s satellites, its 1957 launch was an inflection point in history and a huge achievement for humanity.

Americans certainly remember Sputnik. At a time when the world was larger and scarier, the Soviets had a metal basketball flying over the United States and the rest of the world. It made people ...