Discover the story of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite launched by the Soviets in 1957. This iconic spacecraft, shaped like a shiny beach ball, revolutionized history. Explore its purpose, ...

Sputnik replica on display in the Milestones of Flight at the Smithsonian's National Air and ... On October 4, 1957, imagination became reality when the launch of Sputnik made space travel a fact.

The space age begins its next 50 years this week, with the United States poised atop an... 50 years after Sputnik, a new space frontier Chron Logo Hearst Newspapers Logo ...

Sputnik also lacked a heat shield, so when it finally reentered Earth's atmosphere on January 4, 1958, the friction against it and molecules in the air incinerated the tiny spacecraft.

A 23-inch Soviet spacecraft called Sputnik rocketed into orbit around the Earth 50 years ago this week, jolting a technologically complacent United States, opening the Space Age and launching a ...

Sputnik started space race, anxiety. Four decades after the Soviet Union shocked the world with Sputnik’s launch, the U.S. and Russia now cooperate in space ventures, writes MSNBC’s Alan Boyle.

The launch of Sputnik 60 years ago opened the space era and became a major triumph for the Soviet Union, showcasing its military might and technological prowess. It also stunned the rest of the world.

On Tuesday (Sept. 12), a miniature model of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite, will lift off on board the Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft, serving as the "zero-g indicator" for the mission's ...

MOSCOW — Six decades after Sputnik, a refined version of the rocket that put the first artificial satellite in orbit remains the mainstay of Russia’s space program — a stunning tribute to ...