The Beep Heard Around the World
Sputnik
This is a 1:1 scale model of the Soviet Union's Sputnik, the world's first
artificial satellite. Sputnik's launch on October 4, 1957 is often referred to
as the beginning of the Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United
States but the race had begun years earlier. In 1954, the Chief Designer of the
Soviet space program proposed the launch of an artificial satellite, and
American President Eisenhower pledged that the United States would launch a
satellite during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58. But with
Sputnik's launch, the Soviet Union beat the U.S. over the first hurdle of the
Space Race.