Sputnik 50th anniversary: Celebrate worlds first-ever Russian satellite

Sputnik 1 is the worlds first ever satellite station and today it is the sputnik 50th anniversary, Russia Thursday as it is being called is marking the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik 1. This satellite changed the world when it entered space on October 4th 1957 and it was USSR that won the race to put the first ever satellite into orbit.

Sputnik 1 which is also known as Satellite-1, Co-traveler-1, Спутник-1 or the byname of ПС-1 (PS-1, i.e. “Простейший Спутник-1″, or Elementary Satellite-1 is the first official satellite to go into orbit.

The satellite main objects were to help identify the huge density of high atmospheric layers of which by its orbit did change and provide data on radio signal distribution in the so called ionosphere. The sputnik 1 was launched into space aboard the Russian Soviet R-7 rocket which is from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan.

Circling the globe for a staggering 3 months of which travelling at around 60 million km sending back signals to Earth for 22 days, well until the batteries gave in. The satellite did burn up whilst re-entering the atmosphere on Jan 4, 1958.