Names | Спутник-1 |
---|---|
Mission type | Technology demonstration |
Operator | OKB-1 |
Harvard designation | 1957 Alpha 2 |
COSPAR ID | 1957-001B |
SATCAT no. | 00002 |
Mission duration | 21 days |
Orbits completed | 1440 |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | OKB-1 Ministry of Radiotechnical Industry |
Launch mass | 83.6 kg (184 lb) |
Dimensions | 58 cm (23 in) diameter |
Power | 1 watt |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 4 October 1957, 19:28:34UTC |
Rocket | Sputnik 8K71PS[1] |
Launch site | Baikonur 1/5[1] |
End of mission | |
Disposal | Orbital decay |
Last contact | 26 October 1957 |
Decay date | 4 January 1958[1] |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Low Earth |
Semi-major axis | 6,955 km (4,322 mi) |
Eccentricity | 0.05201 |
Perigee | 215 km (134 mi) |
Apogee | 939 km (583 mi) |
Inclination | 65.1° |
Period | 96.2 minutes |
Epoch | 4 October 1957, 15:12 UTC |
Instruments | |
Radio transmitter (20.005 MHz - 40.002 MHz) | |
Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to go around the Earth.[2][3] It was made by the Soviet Union.[2] It was launched on 4 October 1957 at Baikonur Cosmodrome.[2] It orbited (went around) the Earth for three months.[2] It carried a radio transmitter. It did 1,440 orbits of the Earth during this time. It went down into Earth's atmosphere on 4 January 1958 and burned up.[2]
The United States was very surprised when the Soviet Union sent Sputnik 1 into space. It did not want to fall behind. So, it began spending more money on science and education.[4] This was when the Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States began. The competition helped the US and Russia fuel the United States’ space exploration endeavors