NASA Oct. 4, 1957 - Sputnik, the Dawn of the Space Age

History changed on Oct. 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball, about 23 inches in diameter and weighing less than 190 pounds. via NASA http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/oct-4-1957-sputnik-the-dawn-of-the-space-age