S p u t n i k - Presented by Earthrise

Hear the Sputnik Satellite:

<A HREF="mov/sputnik.aif">[Play Sound]</A>

About Sputnik

Sputnik was the first satellite shot into orbit around the Earth. It was of Russian design and stealth, and that meant that the United States was loosing the space race. Sputnik was desugned to be a radio transmitter in space. When it was launched, all it did was send out bleeps to where ever it was over Earth. There's an audio sample at left. It's shape was a giant sulver sphere with four long pointy rods. It was launched, and after orbiting the Earth a few times, it fell back to Earth and burned up in the atmosphere.

Other Space Missions

The Solar System - Take the Tour - Discovery - Space Missions