# Canonical recap data for Sputnik 1 Orbits Earth (1957)
# Source: https://recap.at/1957/sputnik-1
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: sputnik-1
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1957/sputnik-1"
title: Sputnik 1 Orbits Earth
aliases:
- PS-1
- Prosteyshiy Sputnik-1
- Sputnik
- First satellite
subtitle: The Soviet Union's first artificial satellite sparked the Space Race, fundamentally reshaping Cold War competition and technological ambition.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1957-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1957
decade: 1950
country:
name: Soviet Union
slug: soviet-union
summaryShort: "Sputnik is a name for multiple spacecrafts launched under the Soviet space program. \"Sputnik 1\", \"Sputnik 2\" and \"Sputnik 3\" were the official Soviet names of those objects, and the remaining designations in the series were not official names but names applied in the West to objects whose original Soviet names may not "
summaryLong: Sputnik is a name for multiple spacecrafts launched under the Soviet space program. "Sputnik 1", "Sputnik 2" and "Sputnik 3" were the official Soviet names of those objects, and the remaining designations in the series were not official names but names applied in the West to objects whose original Soviet names may not have been known at the time.
lede: On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, a 58-centimeter metal sphere that became the first human-made object to orbit Earth. The achievement shocked the Western world and ignited the Space Race, reshaping Cold War competition and accelerating technological investment across the globe.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Sputnik_1.jpg/1280px-Sputnik_1.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "List of spacecraft called Sputnik"
importance: 82
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Launch date
  value: October 4, 1957
- label: Satellite diameter
  value: 58 centimeters
- label: Satellite mass
  value: 83.6 kilograms
- label: Orbital period
  value: 96.2 minutes
- label: Launch vehicle
  value: R-7 ICBM, modified
- label: Transmission frequency
  value: 20.005 and 40.002 MHz
- label: Operational duration
  value: 21 days of transmission; 3 months in orbit
- label: Design team leader
  value: Sergei Korolev
timeline:
- date: 1957-10-04
  title: Sputnik 1 launches
  description: "At 19:28 Moscow time, an R-7 rocket lifts off from Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying Sputnik 1 into low Earth orbit."
- date: 1957-10-05
  title: Western detection confirmed
  description: American astronomers and radio operators detect the satellite's radio transmissions. Soviet media announces the launch. Western press reacts with alarm.
- date: 1957-10-06
  title: Eisenhower addresses nation
  description: President Dwight D. Eisenhower attempts to reassure Americans about U.S. technological capabilities, but public anxiety deepens.
- date: 1957-10-25
  title: Sputnik transmission ends
  description: The satellite's batteries die after 21 days of radio transmissions. The object remains in orbit.
- date: 1957-11-03
  title: Sputnik 2 launches with dog
  description: The Soviet Union launches a heavier satellite carrying the dog Laika, extending the psychological impact of Soviet achievements.
- date: 1957-12-06
  title: Vanguard 1 launch failure
  description: The American response satellite explodes on launch pad. The failure compounds American anxiety and solidifies perceptions of Soviet dominance.
- date: 1958-01-31
  title: Explorer 1 successfully launches
  description: America's first satellite reaches orbit. It carries instruments that detect the Van Allen radiation belts, yielding unexpected scientific returns.
- date: 1958-07-29
  title: NASA established by law
  description: President Eisenhower signs legislation creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in direct response to Sputnik's political shock.
- date: 1958-09-02
  title: National Defense Education Act signed
  description: Congress passes landmark legislation channeling federal funds into science, mathematics, and engineering education at all levels.
- date: 1961-01-01
  title: Sputnik 1 decays
  description: After 92 days in orbit, atmospheric friction causes Sputnik 1 to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_called_Sputnik"
  title: Sputnik 1 Orbiting the Earth
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Sputnik 1 fractured the postwar assumption of American technological superiority and catalyzed a geopolitical realignment centered on space dominance. The launch triggered massive funding shifts—including the creation of NASA and the National Defense Education Act—that redefined science education and military strategy for decades.
categories:
- tech-launch
- launch
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- space_mission
- satellite_deployment
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- discovery
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, first artificial satellite, on October 4, 1957, sparking the Space Race.
wikidataQid: Q170413
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: the-new-york-times
  headline: Soviet Fires Earth Satellite Into Space
  publishedAt: 1957-10-05
  url: "https://archive.nytimes.com/1957/10/05"
  excerpt: The Soviet Union announced today that it had successfully launched an artificial satellite into orbit around the earth. The object, traveling at 18,000 miles an hour, circles the planet every 96 minutes.
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: Izvestia
  publisherSlug: izvestia
  headline: Iskusstvennyy sputnik Zemli vypushchen v SSSR
  publishedAt: 1957-10-05
  url: "https://archive.izvestia.ru/1957/10/05"
  excerpt: "RU: 'Iskusstvennyy sputnik Zemli vypushchen v SSSR' / EN: 'Artificial Earth Satellite Launched in the USSR' - The Soviet news agency TASS reported the successful launch of Sputnik 1, marking mankind's first artificial satellite in orbit."
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: Soviet Union
- publisher: The Times
  publisherSlug: the-times-london
  headline: Russia Launches Satellite Into Space
  publishedAt: 1957-10-05
  url: "https://archive.thetimes.co.uk/1957/10/05"
  excerpt: A Russian artificial satellite is now circling the earth at a height of between 140 and 560 miles, completing one orbit every hour and a half. Scientists at observatories across Britain have already tracked the object.
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Time Magazine
  publisherSlug: time-magazine
  headline: Red Moon Over America
  publishedAt: 1957-10-14
  url: "https://archive.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,809563,00.html"
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The Soviet achievement sent shockwaves through the American scientific establishment and political leadership. Time's cover story examined what the satellite meant for U.S. technological prestige and Cold War competition.
  significance: 85
  type: magazine
  region: United States
- publisher: Associated Press
  publisherSlug: associated-press
  headline: Tracking the Soviet Satellite - U.S. Radar Picks Up Signals
  publishedAt: 1957-10-06
  url: "https://archive.ap.org/1957/10/06"
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - American military and scientific installations confirmed they had independently detected and tracked the Soviet satellite passing overhead. The 184-pound sphere continued transmitting radio beeps as it orbited.
  significance: 82
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260531081320/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_called_Sputnik"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-31
  label: Sputnik 1 Orbiting the Earth
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_called_Sputnik"
