The first orbital flight of an artificial satellite,
Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 (, , ''Satellite 1''), sometimes referred to as simply Sputnik, was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program ...
, was launched in October 1957, by the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. In November, the second orbital flight took place. The Soviet Union launched the
first animal to orbit the
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
, a dog,
Laika
Laika ( ; , ; – 3 November 1957) was a Soviet space dog who was one of the first animals in space and the first to orbit the Earth. A stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, she flew aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft, launched into lo ...
, who died in orbit a few hours after launch.
* Thor, Atlas, and R-7 rocket families all have maiden flights this year, all three of which will have long legacies for over 50 years.
* Australia and the UK go to space with sounding rockets; first space launches from Australia.
* The R-12 makes its maiden flight.
* The US makes its first orbital attempt and fails (Vanguard TV-3).
Overview
Orbital launches
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October
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November
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December
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Suborbital flights
Orbital launch statistics
By country
By rocket
By launch site
By orbit
Launch statistics
By country
By rocket
See also
*
Timeline of spaceflight
This is a timeline of known spaceflights, both crewed and uncrewed, sorted chronologically by launch date. Due to its large size, the timeline has been split into smaller articles, one for each year since 1951. There is a separate list for ...
Pre-1963 Designations Of U.S. Missiles And Drones
References
Footnotes
{{Orbital launches in 1957
1957 in spaceflight
Spaceflight by year