Table of Contents
Who was the first satellite launched into space?
Sputnik
Fifty years ago, on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, shocking the American public and beginning the Space Age. People had been dreaming of space travel for some time before the launch of Sputnik.
What was the first satellite launched?
January 31, 1958
Explorer 1/Launch date
Who launched the first satellite into space when and what was it called?
Soviet Union
History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world’s first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball (58 cm.or 22.8 inches in diameter), weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit Earth on its elliptical path.
How long was Explorer 1 in space?
12 years
Explorer 1 transmitted data for about four months till its batteries died on May 21, 1958. But it remained in orbit for 12 years, circling 58,376 times around Earth, before burning up upon reentry into the atmosphere on March 31, 1970.
Which country was first into space?
Timeline
| No. | Country | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union | Yuri Gagarin |
| 2 | United States | Alan Shepard |
| 1970s | ||
| 3 | Czechoslovakia | Vladimír Remek |
What spacecraft is farthest from Earth?
spacecraft Voyager 1
The most distant artificial object is the spacecraft Voyager 1, which – in November 2021 – is nearly 14 1/2 billion miles (23 billion km) from Earth. Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, were launched 16 days apart in 1977. Both spacecraft flew by Jupiter and Saturn.
What is the oldest satellite still operating?
The Vanguard spacecraft, the oldest satellite still in orbit, is seen here in Cape Canaveral, Florida, back in 1958. Today, there are more than 2,600 active satellites in orbit, as well as thousands of dead satellites that circle the planet as space junk.