HISTORY REMEMBERS OCT. 4, 1957, a lot better than it remembers Jan. 4, 1958âalthough in recent weeks, the second date is coming to loom larger than the first. Oct. 4, 1957, was the day the Soviet Union launched Sputnikâthe worldâs first satelliteâan achievement that heralded the start of the space age. RUSS SATELLITE CIRCLING EARTH, shouted the Los Angeles Times in a banner headline. REDS FIRE âMOONâ INTO SKY, yelped the Chicago Daily Tribune.
There was no such hyperventilating, however, three months later to the day, when the little 184 lb., beach-ball-size satellite, having slowly lost altitude over the months because of atmospheric drag, fell from the sky, burning up like a small meteor in the fiery heat of re-entry. With that, the worldâs first satellite became the worldâs firstâŠ
