This week in history: Sputnik I
Friday, 04 October 2019
by David

On this day in 1957, Sputnik I became the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. The beachball-sized Soviet machine circled the planet in a low elliptical orbit for three weeks before its batteries finally died. Then it continued for two more months before finally falling back into the atmosphere. The unexpected success of Sputnik
- Published in For Students, For Teachers, Modern History, Western Civilization
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