Sputnik 1 orbited the earth for 57 days before the gravity of earth pulled it from space Sputnik was an experiment to show that artificial satelites could be made.Today thousands of srtificial satellites orbit the earth the natural satellite completes one orbit a month.Present day communications satellites transmit radio and television programs to locations around the world.Sputnik was an unmanned Soviet satellite that orbited the earth on 4 October 1957. The kerosene-powered Sputnik weighed 84 kb (184 pounds), …showed first 75 words of 374 total…

…showed last 75 words of 374 total…in America that bordered on panic. The space and arms races that consumed much of the second half of the 20th century can be traced back to the Sputnik. Soviet progress in space continued after Sputnik I. On 3 November 1957 the Soviets launched Sputnik II carrying a test-dog named Laika. Sputnik III was launched in May 1958 and weighed almost 1400 kilograms (3000 pounds); it orbited for about two years and provided a wealth of information about the earth.