The first orbital flight of an artificial satellite,
Sputnik 1, was launched in October 1957, by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. 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 harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, a dog,
Laika
Laika (russian: link=no, Лайка; – 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 space ...
, 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 the next 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)
Launches
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Orbital launch summary
By country
By rocket
By launch site
By orbit
Launch summary
By country
By rocket
See also
*
Timeline of spaceflightPre-1963 Designations Of U.S. Missiles And Drones
References
Footnotes
{{Orbital launches in 1957
1957 in spaceflight
Spaceflight by year