Sixty years ago on 4 October 1957, the small 84 kg SPUTNIK 1 (PS-1) satellite was launched into orbit by the Soviet Union, beating the USA to the prize of being first nation to orbit something. It was Sergey Korolev’s R-7 converted ballistic missile which took the honours that day. It was also his decision to make the first satellite a very basic radio transmitter – but one that could be picked up by radio listeners around the world.
![](https://www.seradata.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Sputnik_ubx.jpg)
Sputnik replica. Courtesy: Wikipedia