Sputnik+-+Ramsey

=Sputnik =

The Russian word "Sputnik" means companion. Three satellites, Sputnik 1, 2, and 3, successfully reached earths orbit. There were 25 Sputniks all together. Sputnik 1 was filled with nitrogen, giving the first opportunity for meteroid dectection, which never happened.

Who: Sputnik is a satellite that the Soviet Union launched to begin the space race.

What: Sputnik is the worlds first artificial satellite. It was approxametly the size of a beach ball and weighed 184 pounds. While orbiting it sent a beep to earth.

When: The Soviets successfully launched Sputnik on October 4, 1957. It took about 1 hour and 38 minutes to orbit the earth.Sputnik was launched from a base in Kazakhstan.

Why: The Soviet Union launched Sputnik to begin the space race.

The sputnik launch led to the development of NASA. Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act on October 1, 1958.

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