MadSci Network: Astronomy
Query:

Re: What was the first manmade object in space?

Date: Wed May 24 22:13:51 2000
Posted By: Bryan Mendez, Grad student, Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California at Berkeley
Area of science: Astronomy
ID: 958937295.As
Message:

Hello,

The first manmade object in space was the Sputnik 1 satellite. It was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4th, 1957. This came as a shock to the United States as they had not been aware that the Russians already had such a capability.

It orbited the Earth every 98 minutes. Using that information I calculate that its average speed in orbit was 25,000 miles/hour.

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