On this day 54 years ago, the USSR launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to ever be sent into Earth's orbit. By the time it finally disintegrated on January 4, 1958, it had travelled 37 million miles in 3 months.
The project's origins can be traced back to 1954. Sergei Korolev addressed the Ministry of Defense Industries. He argued that the ability to deploy an artificial satellite was crucial in the development of advanced rocket technology. He also pointed out that it would greatly enhance the possibility of "interplanetary communications" whatever that means.
On the day of the launch, the Communist newspaper Pravda only printed one or two paragraphs about Sputnik 1. The panicked reaction from the American public caused them to reprint the story, hailing it as a great Soviet achievement.
In the US, alarms went off almost at once. The thought of orbiting nuclear delivery systems terrified the people. Within the next few years, NASA, DARPA, the Polaris missile system, and other countermeasures were put in place. Eventually, an agreement was signed at the UN to assure that outer space would never be weaponized.
The launch of Sputnik 1 did more to escalate the Cold War than advance the cause of science. The US wouldn't be able to successfully launch its own satellite until 1958.
Only one piece of the original Sputnik exists today: an arming key designed to prevent contact between the batteries and the transmitter prior to launch. It's currently being held by the Smithsonian Institute.
