Sputnik (Спутник, Russian for "satellite"NOTE: The Russian word "sputnik" can have many meanings: "satellite", "travelling companion", "fellow traveller", etc. However, in astronomy, it means only "satellite".) is a name for multiple

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...

launched under the

Soviet space program The Soviet space program () was the state space program of the Soviet Union, active from 1951 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Contrary to its competitors (NASA in the United States, the European Space Agency in Western Euro ...

. "

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 ...

", " Sputnik 2" and " Sputnik 3" were the official Soviet names of those objects, and the remaining designations in the series ("Sputnik 4" and so on) were not official names but names applied in the West to objects whose original Soviet names may not have been known at the time.

Spacecraft officially named ''Sputnik''

, the first

artificial satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scienti ...

to go into orbit, launched 4 October 1957 * Sputnik 2, the first spacecraft to carry a living animal (the dog Laika) into orbit, launched 3 November 1957 * Sputnik 3, a research satellite launched 15 May 1958

Spacecraft with names containing ''Sputnik''

Being the Russian term for "satellite", the word ''Sputnik'' has appeared in the names of other spacecraft: * Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik, a series of scientific and technology development satellites *

Istrebitel Sputnikov Istrebitel Sputnikov, or IS (, ИС, meaning "destroyer of satellites"), was a Soviet Union, Soviet anti-satellite weapons programme which led to the deployment of the IS-A or I2P system during the 1970s and 1980s. IS satellites were originally ...

, "Destroyer of Satellites", a series of antisatellite weapons and targets * Tyazhely Sputnik, "Heavy Satellite", a failed Venus probe * Upravlyaemy Sputnik, "Controllable Satellite", a series of ocean surveillance and missile detection satellites ** US-A, nuclear-powered ocean radar surveillance satellites ** US-K, molniya orbit missile detection satellites ** US-KS, geosynchronous orbit missile detection satellites ** US-KMO, Modernised geosynchronous orbit missile detection satellites ** US-P, electronic ocean surveillance satellites ** US-PM, modernised electronic ocean surveillance satellites

Spacecraft designated "Sputnik" in the West

These objects are listed with their official Soviet names: *Sputnik 4 – Korabl-Sputnik 1 *Sputnik 5 – Korabl-Sputnik 2 *Sputnik 6 – Korabl-Sputnik 3 *Sputnik 7 – Tyazhely Sputnik *Sputnik 8 – Venera 1 *Sputnik 9 – Korabl-Sputnik 4 *Sputnik 10 – Korabl-Sputnik 5 *Sputnik 11 –

Kosmos 1 Kosmos 1 ( meaning ''Cosmos 1''), also known as DS-2 No.1 and occasionally in the West as Sputnik 11 was a technology demonstration and ionosphere, ionospheric research satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1962. It was the first satellite ...

*Sputnik 12 – Kosmos 2 *Sputnik 13 – Kosmos 3 *Sputnik 14 – Kosmos 4 *Sputnik 15 – Kosmos 5 *Sputnik 16 – Kosmos 6 *Sputnik 17 – Kosmos 7 *Sputnik 18 – Kosmos 8 *Sputnik 19 – Venera 2MV-1 No.1 *Sputnik 20 – Venera 2MV-1 No.2 *Sputnik 21 – Venera 2MV-2 No.1 *Sputnik 22 – Mars 2MV-4 No.1 *Sputnik 23 – Mars 1 *Sputnik 24 – Mars 2MV-3 No.1 *Sputnik 25 – Luna E-6 No.2

Spacecraft named after Sputnik 1

* Sputnik 40 * Sputnik 41 * Sputnik 99

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sputnik * Lists of spacecraft

Spacecraft officially named ''Sputnik''

Spacecraft with names containing ''Sputnik''

Spacecraft designated "Sputnik" in the West

Spacecraft named after Sputnik 1

See also

Notes