Sputnik 1 was launched on October 4th, 1957 by the Soviet Union.                                                   

The word Sputnik originally meant "fellow traveler"

Sputnik 1 is the first artificial satellite in the world!!!!!

It traveled 29,000 kilometers per hour.

It's about the size of a beach ball. It's 58 centimeters in diameter and it weighs only 183.9 pounds.

It took about  98 minutes ( 1 hour and 38 minutes) for the Sputnik 1 to orbit Earth on its elliptical path.

The amateur radio batteries ran out on October 26th, 1957.

Sputnik 1 was in orbit for about 3 months.

The launch led to the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (NASA)

The Sputnik 1 burned up on January 4th, 1958 when it fell from orbit reentering Earth's  atmosphere.