The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1
A beeping beach-ball-sized satellite opens the Space Age and stuns the United States
Quick facts
- Agency
- USSR
- Launch site
- Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
- Weight
- 184 lbs (83.6 kg)
- Orbital period
- ~90-98 minutes
What happened
On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 from what is now the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, placing the first artificial satellite into orbit. The satellite weighed 184 pounds and was about the size of a beach ball, orbiting Earth roughly every 90 to 98 minutes on an elliptical path with an apogee of 584 miles and a perigee of 143 miles. It carried no scientific instruments, only a radio transmitter that sent out a continuous 'beep-beep' signal on frequencies amateur radio operators around the world could pick up. Visible with binoculars near dawn or dusk, Sputnik passed over the United States several times a day, and Americans tuned their radios to listen to the signal of a Soviet machine crossing their own sky.
Why it matters
The launch triggered Congressional hearings and a wave of American anxiety over having fallen behind in missile and satellite technology, directly leading to the creation of NASA less than a year later. It marked the formal start of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, a rivalry that would shape the next two decades of spaceflight and, more broadly, an entire front of the Cold War.
How we know
NASA's own history office documents the launch date, orbit, and US reaction; the specifications come from tracking data collected at the time and preserved in the agency's historical record.
Sources
- NASA History Office. 65 Years Ago: Sputnik Ushers in the Space Age · Primary source (author-declared)nasa.gov · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- NASA History Office. Dawn of the Space Age · Reputable sourcenasa.gov · The domain "nasa.gov" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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Related timelines
- The Cold War → · Sputnik turns the Cold War into a race for space, and Congress responds by creating NASA