The beginning of the space age was ushered in with the successful launch of Sputnik 1, the world’s first orbiting satellite, on Oct. 4, 1957.

The Soviets called it sputnik, meaning simply “satellite” or “fellow traveler.” But to American space-watchers of 60 years ago, the satellite that launched on Oct. 4, 1957 had many ...

There may actually have been three Sputnik moments. The Soviet Union's Oct. 4, 1957, launch of the first-ever artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, created quite a stir, to be sure. It did kick off the ...

Sputnik I, on display in 1957. Oct. 4, 1957 — the Space Age began with an American defeat. The result was a tremendous push for science in American life and culture ...

The shock of Sputnik reverberates around the world, heralding not only the dawn of the Space Age but the ratcheting up of an already heated Cold War.

Sputnik II was launched in November 1957 with a passenger aboard - a dog called Laika. The flight allowed Russian scientists to learn much about the prospects for human space travel.

An illustration of Sputnik in space. ullstein bild Dtl. Getty Images There may actually have been three Sputnik moments. The Soviet Union's Oct. 4, 1957, launch of the first-ever artificial satellite, ...

President Dwight D. Eisenhower had advance knowledge about the Soviets’ work on Sputnik, which was launched by a rocket on October 4, 1957.

This was the final flight before the first human in space—Yuri Gagarin took flight April 12, 1961.

First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on November 4, 1957 “Extraordinarily heavy” Sputnik II, dog onboard November 3 - Russia today successfully launched a second space satellite. It ...

A Soviet engineer displays a replica of Sputnik at a 1957 Moscow exhibition. Photo: Bettmann / CORBIS 1957: The Space Age dawns a little sooner than expected with the successful launch of Sputnik ...