On Oct. 4, 1957, the former Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik 1 the first human-made object to enter Earth orbit. See photos from the historic mission.

Sputnik 1 was the first human-made object to orbit the Earth, and it set off a wave of fear and anxiety across the U.S. now known as the "Sputnik crisis." ...

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. ... Sputnik, Lewis said, made the question moot, ...

Suddenly, an insular sense and security of place was shattered when the U.S.S.R. launched Sputnik 1, a 184-pound, 23-inch diameter aluminum ball, which was the first man-made satellite ever to ...

On Oct. 4, 1957, Russia launched Sputnik 1, ... In 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit the Earth, beating American John Glenn, who made it in 1962.

Sputnik 1 was a metal sphere about two feet wide, and it carried only a radio transmitter and four antennas ... Nothing made by human hands had ever orbited the Earth.

Following are five questions about the Sputnik I satellite. 1. What does Sputnik mean? Satellite or fellow traveler. 2. Why was it made of polished aluminum? The Soviets wanted the satellite to be ...

On This Day: The Launch of Sputnik. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite, into low Earth orbit.

Sputnik 1 was the first human-made object to orbit the Earth, and it set off a wave of fear and anxiety across the U.S. now known as the "Sputnik crisis." ...