1957 in spaceflight
Artist's impression of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, in orbit
|
|
| Orbital launches | |
|---|---|
| First | 4 October |
| Last | 6 December |
| Total | 3 |
| Successes | 1 |
| Failures | 1 |
| Partial failures | 1 |
| Catalogued | 2 |
| National firsts | |
| Spaceflight |
 Australia United Kingdom
|
| Satellite |
 Soviet Union
|
| Orbital launch |
Soviet Union
|
| Rockets | |
| Maiden flights |
Sputnik-PS Vanguard |
| Retirements | Sputnik-PS |
The first orbital flight of an artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched in October 1957, by the Soviet Union.
In November, the second orbital flight took place. The Soviet Union launched the first animal to orbit the Earth, a dog, Laika, who died in orbit a few days after launch.
There were also 189 suborbital launches, many unsuccessful.
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Wikipedia