The Soviets continued refining their design for launch on an R-7 rocket. Compromise satellite. Sputnik ("traveling companion" in Russian) was a silver sphere with four long antennas.

But while many museums display replicas of Sputnik, few pay tribute to its rocket. No, a rocket is not easy to fit into a display case, but it was Cold War secrecy that limited the R-7's legacy.

This was the same kind of rocket used to launch the first Sputnik satellite. She was alive when she reached orbit, but she died shortly afterward because the spacecraft's heat shield had broken off.

Few people actually saw Sputnik and its rocket take off — and when they did, they feared at first that the launch was a failure. The world's first-ever orbital liftoff provided a new perspective ...

Despite its apparent simplicity, the impact of the R-7 rocket cannot be overstated. Sputnik was the first satellite humans launched into orbit, and it stunned the world. "In being beaten so ...

Our dear rocket launch-platform Sputnik is still moored to the docks of Space Port Nexoe on the Island of Bornholm, but not for long. We did discuss keeping her on the island because we will be ...

Sputnik proved that the Soviet Union had a rocket large enough to put a satellite in orbit. Sputnik weighed about 80 kilograms — compare to Explorer One, the U.S.’s first satellite, which ...

SPUTNIK 1 ROCKET DIAGRAM + KEY Diagram describing the three-stage rocket which lifted Sputnik into orbit. The launch of the satellite is what prompted the Orion Project to begin. 1.