There have been many milestones of note in the story of the Space Age, but the launch of the USSR’s Sputnik 1 satellite is the major breakthrough that started it all. It was the first human-made object to get up into space and stay in orbit, having blasted off on October 4, 1957, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in current-day Kazakhstan.
It was a technological leap that no one outside the Soviet Union expected, including the U.S. The rush of rapid political, military, and scientific developments that followed—up to and beyond the 1969 moon landing—can all be traced back to this 23-inch-diameter metal sphere.
The satellite beamed back radio signals from space for 22 days, before its three silver-zinc batteries ran out and it crashed into the atmosphere on January 4, 1958. Several more Sputniks followed, as well as seven decades of space exploration that’s still ongoing.
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An artist’s rendering of Sputnik 1 traveling in orbit. “Sputnik” translates to “satellite” in Russian, and the name was used for several subsequent space missions. Credit: Gregory R Todd / CC BY-SA 3.0This is a replica of Sputnik 1, on display in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Development on the satellite began almost three years prior to launch and was overseen by rocket engineer Sergei Korolev. Credit: Tim Evanson / CC BY-SA 2.0While the original satellite hasn’t survived, there are many replicas on display worldwide—such as this one outside the Russian Embassy in Madrid. Credit: Luis García / CC BY-SA 3.0What has survived from Sputnik 1 is this arming key. The caveat: It never actually went to space. The key was in place to keep the batteries separate from the electronics and was removed as the satellite launched. Credit: Soyuz235 / Public Domain
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An exploded view of a replica of the Sputnik 1 satellite in Moscow unveils its insides. The unit was fitted with instruments including two antennas, three batteries, a radio transmitter, and a thermal system fan. Credit: Museum of Cosmonautics / Kees08 / CC0The Sputnik 1 mission was widely celebrated in the Soviet Union—including on stamps issued at the time. For the U.S., there were renewed concerns about spy satellites and weapons that could be deployed from orbit. Credit: USSR Post / User Matsievsky / Public DomainAnother replica, this time from the Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology in Saint Petersburg. Between 1928 and 1933, the museum site was a rocket lab, developing fuel systems that would eventually launch Sputnik 1. Credit: Andrew Butko / CC BY-SA 3.0A technician at work on Sputnik 1. The satellite was codenamed Object D during development, and initial plans to have it carry a wealth of scientific instruments were scaled down to achieve an earlier launch date instead. Credit: ESA / History.com / Sovfoto
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The impact of Sputnik 1 continues to be felt today, with the number of satellites currently orbiting Earth now in the tens of thousands and rising quickly. This is a humorous mock-up of the Russian probe outside a festival in the U.K. in 2012. Credit: Timitrius / CC BY-SA 2.0
David Nield has written about science and technology for more than 20 years. His work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including Wired, Popular Science, The Guardian, and Gizmodo.
