The OKB-1 then stepped in, fearing the U.S. would launch a satellite before the USSR, and suggested the creation and launch of a satellite in April–May 1957, before the IGY began in July 1957.

The 184.3-pound (83.6 kg) craft’s primary function was to place a radio transmitter into orbit around the Earth. Sputnik 1, Earth's First Artificial Satellite (Photos) The Scientific Legacy of ...

Sputnik. The first artificial satellite, the launch of which precipitated the space race. Without the frenetic pace of technological advancement as the USA and the USSR vied with each other during … ...

While Sputnik’s steady stream of radio-signal beeps broadcast the Soviet’s early prowess in space exploration, the creation of the first man-made satellite had long remained a state secret ...

Sputnik 1, the first satellite to orbit the Earth, launched on Oct. 4 of that year from a site in Kazakhstan, then a part of the USSR. That site is now the Baikonur Cosmodrome; at the time it was ...

The Sputnik 1. Pic/AFP. The satellite with regular 'beep-beep' radio signals for 22 days till its transmitter battery ran down orbited the Earth for 3 months, travelling around 60 million km ...

At around 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds), the second Sputnik dwarfed the U.S. Vanguard satellite, which at 1.6 kilograms (3.5 pounds) was slated to be the first attempt, but had yet to launch.