Collection of headlines from around the world on the launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite. Sputnik 1 was launched by the Soviet Union on 4th October 1957, into an elliptical orbit. It transmitted radio signals and returned measurements of the upper atmosphere, completing some 1400 orbits before re-entering the atmosphere some three months later, on 2nd January 1958. The launch started the Space Race.