The Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 satellite took to the skies on Oct. 4, 1957, launching the space age and the Cold War space race. Here are a few fun facts you may not know about Sputnik 1 and its brief but world-changing mission.
Since the launch of Sputnik 1 (4 October 1957), 38,000 artificial satellites haveorbited the Earth. Still more than 22,000 human-made objects (10 cm/3.94 in or longer) up there. Only 5% of them are functioning satellites. 8% of them have spent rockets while the remaining 87% are fra...
We’ve scoured the entire universe to find you a whole solar system of facts about space! If you like planets, rockets, chocolate, and cheesy jokes you will like this list of 30 Amazing Facts About Space and the Universe! So buckle up and enjoy your flight to Planet Fact! 1. Space is...
The first artificial satellite in space was called “Sputnik”. It was launched by the Soviet Union into an elliptical low Earth orbit onOctober 4, 1957. Exoplanets are planets that orbit around other stars. All of the planets in our solar system orbit around the Sun. But what about other ...
Some consider Sputnik 1 to be the most famous and important space mission in history. The Soviet Union launched a satellite into orbit in 1957 that transmits signals that could be picked up by anyone with a shortwave radio. This dramatically heightened the stakes of the "Space Race" and kick...
The Western half of the “Heart,” Sputnik Planitia, is a 621-mile (1,000 km) wide basin of frozen nitrogen and carbon monoxide. The Eastern half of the “Heart” contains mountains made of water ice that reach up to 11,000 feet (3.35 km) high. ...
suffered from overheating just a few hours after the mission’s start and died in space. The officials selected Laika, from Moscow’s streets, as the occupant of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2.People knew little about the spaceflight impact on living creatures at the time of Laika’s ...
Laika was launched into space aboard the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 in 1957, making her the first living creature to orbit the Earth. Despite the success of the mission, Laika sadly did not survive the journey, as the technology to bring her back to Earth had not yet been developed. Her...
8. The first artificial satellite (Sputnik 1) and the first man (Yuri Gagarin) were sent into space from Baikonur cosmodrome located in Kazakhstan 9. Half of Lake Balkhash, one of the largest lakes in the world, consists of fresh water, the other half of the salt water. ...
This planetary heart garnered the attention of millions of people, which drew Pluto closer to our actual hearts despite being the most distanced planet in the Solar System. On one lobe of Pluto’s heart, there is a basin named Sputnik Planitia, which is filled with nitrogen ice. ...