Mystery · Space Exploration
The Beep Heard Around the World
Sputnik 1
The question
What did Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, do once it reached orbit in 1957?
- Sent out radio beeps(correct answer)
- Photographed the far side of the Moon
- Carried a dog around the Earth
The answer: Sent out radio beeps
Launched by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957, Sputnik 1 was a metal sphere about the size of a beach ball. It carried only three batteries, two radio transmitters, a fan and a switch. Its beep-beep-beep signals could be picked up by amateur radio operators around the globe, who used the changing beeps to track its path.
- Civilization
- Soviet Union
- Region
- Eastern Europe and Central Asia
- Period
- 1957
- Featured in
- Daily Discovery #006 · 7 November 2026
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