NASA October 4: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1 into earth orbit. The first man-made satellite passes overhead, making one revolution every 90 minutes. October 5: The Soviet daily newspaper ...

Each cube-shaped spacecraft is less than 1.5 m across. The shadow-casting satellite holds a disk to block the sun from the telescope on the other satellite. This disk will mimic the Moon in a ...

On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik. Americans feared the implications of the first man-made satellite orbiting above the Earth. Astronaut Frank Borman recalled, "I was teaching at ...

Despite orbiting almost 400km higher than the highest passenger plane, it is possible to spot our most famous man-made satellite on a clear evening, even without binoculars or a telescope!