On this day, October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, ushering in the Space Age and beginning the Space Race with the United States.
Sputnik was launched at 10:29 p.m. Moscow time from the Tyuratam launch base in the Kazakh Republic. The satellite, whose name means “fellow traveler” in Russian, was about 58 centimetres in diameter and weighed 83.6 kilograms.
It orbited Earth every 96 minutes at speeds of about 29,000 kilometres per hour, transmitting radio signals that could be picked up by amateur radio operators around the world.
The launch stunned the United States, which feared the Soviet achievement demonstrated a significant lead in rocket and satellite technology. Washington responded by accelerating its own space programme.
The first US satellite, Explorer 1, was launched on January 31, 1958, marking an important step in America's response.
Sputnik's orbit eventually deteriorated, and the satellite burned up in Earth's atmosphere in January 1958.
The Soviet programme went on to achieve several other early space milestones, including sending the first human and first woman into space. The United States later moved ahead in the Space Race with the Apollo programme, culminating in the first human landing on the Moon in July 1969.