What does ‘satellite’ mean? It means something small or less powerful that orbits (goes around) something bigger. For example, the Moon is Earth’s natural satellite.

Similarly, an artificial satellite is an object sent out to space to go around and study Earth or other space objects.

Sputnik 1 (Prosteyshiy Sputnik-1) was Earth’s first artificial satellite. It was launched by the Soviet Union (former Russia) on 4 October 1957 from Kazakhstan (at that time, it was a part of the Soviet Union).

Sputnik 1

This satellite was a round polished metal object, about the size of a beach ball with four external radio antennas.

It stayed in orbit until 4 January 1958, when it fell back and burned in Earth’s atmosphere. During the time it was in space, it completed 1440 orbits of the Earth and travelled a distance of about 70 million km

Even though it did not stay in space for long, Sputnik 1 helped provide important information about Earth’s atmosphere to scientists. It also kickstarted the “space race” between the US and Russia.

Watch a video of the launch of Sputnik 1:

 

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