Sputnik 1

Sputnik 1: The First Satellite in Space

Sputnik 1 was the very first man-made object to go around our planet, the Earth. It was sent up by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. This small, round satellite was like a shiny metal ball, about as big as a big beach ball. It had four long antennas that sent out radio signals.

People all around the world could listen to these signals. Sputnik 1 sent its "beep, beep" sound for three weeks until its batteries ran out. Even though it stopped working, it kept moving around the Earth for three months before it fell back down.

The launch of Sputnik 1 was a big surprise to many, especially in the United States. It started something called the Space Race, which made countries want to learn more about space. Scientists used what they learned from Sputnik 1 to study our planet's upper atmosphere and the ionosphere.

Today, we remember Sputnik 1 as the first step in exploring space. It helped us make many of the satellites we use today, like those that help us find our way with GPS. You can see copies of Sputnik 1 in museums around the world, like the National Air and Space Museum in the United States.