When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Each year, the first week of October kicks off the United Nation's World Space Week, which ...

Sputnik 1 was launched on October 4, 1957, at 1928 UTC from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in present-day Kazakhstan using the R-7 rocket. It was also known as Sputnik 8K71PS, a modified intercontinental ...

On Oct. 4, 1957, the former Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik 1 the first human-made object to enter Earth orbit. See photos from the historic mission.