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The Soviet Union launched the first animal to orbit the Earth, a dog, Laika, who died in orbit a few hours after launch. Thor, Atlas, and R-7 rocket families all have maiden flights this year, all three of which will have long legacies for the next 50+ years; Australia and the UK go to space with sounding rockets; first space launches from ...
The Sputnik rocket was an uncrewed orbital carrier rocket designed by Sergei Korolev in the Soviet Union, derived from the R-7 Semyorka ICBM.On 4 October 1957, it was used to perform the world's first satellite launch, placing Sputnik 1 into a low Earth orbit.
On July 29, 1957, the US announced a planned launch of the Vanguard by the spring of 1958, and on July 31, the USSR announced it would launch a satellite in the fall of 1957. [18] [19] Photograph of Sputnik 2 and its rocket taken by Air Force personnel at Air Force Missile Test Center, Patrick AFB, Florida
1957 October 4 USSR First artificial satellite First man-made signals from orbit: Sputnik 1: 1957 November 3 USSR First mammal (the dog Laika) in orbit around Earth. Sputnik 2: 1958 March 17 USA First solar-powered satellite Vanguard 1: 1959 January 2 USSR First lunar spacecraft First rocket engine restart in Earth orbit
The Vanguard rocket [1] was intended to be the first launch vehicle the United States would use to place a satellite into orbit. Instead, the Sputnik crisis caused by the surprise launch of Sputnik 1 led the U.S., after the failure of Vanguard TV-3, to quickly orbit the Explorer 1 satellite using a Juno I rocket, making Vanguard 1 the second successful U.S. orbital launch.
Soviet rocket engineers had long intended a canine orbit before attempting human spaceflight; since 1951, they had lofted 12 dogs into sub-orbital space on ballistic flights, working gradually toward an orbital mission set for some time in 1958. To satisfy Khrushchev's demands, they expedited the orbital canine flight for the November launch. [3]
12 July 1957, 12:53 R-7 Semyorka (8K71) M1-7 LC-1/5, Baikonur Failure N/A Electrical failure caused the vehicle to roll at high speed, resulting in breakup at T+32 seconds. 21 August 1957, 12:25 R-7 Semyorka (8K71) M1-8 LC-1/5, Baikonur Successful N/A ICBM test - World's first missile flight to achieve intercontinental range. 7 September 1957 ...
At its launch attempt on 6 December 1957, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the booster ignited and began to rise, but about two seconds after liftoff, after rising about 1.2 m (four feet), the rocket lost thrust and fell back to the launch pad. As it settled, the fuel tanks ruptured and exploded, destroying the rocket and severely damaging ...