The Sputnik programme was the Soviet Union's series of early satellite launches, which opened the Space Age. Sputnik 1, a polished metal sphere that broadcast radio beeps, was the first artificial satellite and caused a sensation around the world, contributing to the American sense of a space race. Sputnik 2 carried the dog Laika, the first animal to orbit the Earth, and Sputnik 3 was a large scientific laboratory. The name was also used for later test flights of the Vostok capsule that would carry Yuri Gagarin, which were publicly labelled Korabl-Sputnik. The programme was led by the chief designer Sergei Korolev and prompted the creation of NASA in the United States.
Before and after
- 20 December 1956Montgomery bus boycott
- 1957Founding of Kleť Observatory
- 1957Personal computer
- 1957Founding of FIBA Europe
- from 1957 to 1961Sputnik programme
- 1957Construction of Central Stadium Yekaterinburg
- 1957Founding of European Economic and Social Committee
- 1957Founding of International Atomic Energy Agency
- 1957Creation of Fortran
More in Universe & space
- 30 September 1975Discovery of Themisto
- 22 June 1978Discovery of Charon
- 20 January 1986Discovery of Ophelia
- 19 February 1986Launch of Mir
- 1998Supernovae show that cosmic expansion is accelerating
- 20 November 1998Launch of International Space Station
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.