🔬 Sputnik 1, the first satellite, launches (1957)
People around the world listened on their radios as the space age began.
Where: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
📅 On This Day: October 4
October 4, 1957: Sputnik 1, the first satellite, launches. On this day in 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first human-made satellite. It was a shiny ball about the size of a beach ball with four long antennas, and it sent a 'beep-beep' signal back to Earth.
✨ More events on this day
- 1903 💡 Physicist John Vincent Atanasoff was born in New York. With a student, he built one of the first electronic digital computers, the Atanasoff–Berry Computer.
- 1983 🏅 Richard Noble set a new land speed record in his jet car Thrust2 on the flat Black Rock Desert in Nevada, USA.
- 2004 🚀 SpaceShipOne won the Ansari X Prize by flying to the edge of space twice in two weeks, becoming the first private crewed spacecraft to do it.
🧠 Question of the day
What sound did Sputnik 1 send back to Earth?
- 'Beep-beep'
- A dog barking
- A song
Show the answer
Answer: 'Beep-beep'
🐾 World day: World Animal Day
It honours St Francis of Assisi, who loved animals. Since 1925, people worldwide celebrate caring for animals.
Questions
What happened on October 4?
October 4, 1957: Sputnik 1, the first satellite, launches. It happened in Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
In the game, the "Today on Earth" panel shows this story on its day, with a question to answer and a place to fly to.
More days in October
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1