What was the reason for Sputnik?

Officially, Sputnik was launched to correspond with the International Geophysical Year, a solar period that the International Council of Scientific Unions declared would be ideal for the launching of artificial satellites to study Earth and the solar system.

What was the purpose of launching Sputnik 1?

The satellite was launched from what is now called the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Oct. 4, 1957. The 184.3-pound (83.6 kg) craft’s primary function was to place a radio transmitter into orbit around the Earth. You can follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom.

What events led to the space race?

The competition began on 2 August 1955, when the Soviet Union responded to the US announcement of their similar intent to launch artificial satellites. The Space Race has its origins in the nuclear arms race between the two nations following the Second World War.

Why is Sputnik 1 considered the beginning of the space age?

The launch of Sputnik 1 ushered in a new era of political, scientific and technological achievements that became known as the Space Age, by the rapid development of new technology and a race for achievement, mostly between the United States and the Soviet Union.

How did Sputnik change the world?

Sputnik made it possible to test satellite pressurisation, to study radio wave transmission and the density of the atmosphere, and allowed scientists to learn how to track objects in orbit. Sputnik 1 orbited Earth every 96 minutes, and the fact that it passed over the USA seven times a day worried many Americans.

Did they send a dog to space?

The Soviet Union launches the first animal into space—a dog name Laika—aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft. Laika, part Siberian husky, lived as a stray on the Moscow streets before being enlisted into the Soviet space program. He orbited Earth once before landing safely in the USSR.

When did humans first get into space?

April 1961
April 1961 – First Human Entered Space. Yuri Gagarin from the Soviet Union was the first human in space. His vehicle, Vostok 1 circled Earth at a speed of 27,400 kilometers per hour with the flight lasting 108 minutes.

Who was the first woman in space?

Valentina Tereshkova
The first woman to travel in space was Soviet cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova. On 16 June 1963, Tereshkova was launched on a solo mission aboard the spacecraft Vostok 6. She spent more than 70 hours orbiting the Earth, two years after Yuri Gagarin’s first human-crewed flight in space.