Which Soviet satellite launched in 1957 and sparked the Space Race?

Which Soviet satellite launched in 1957 and sparked the Space Race?

• A. Explorer
• B. Sputnik
• C. Vostok
• D. Soyuz

Answer: (B)

Sputnik is the first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, and its launch sparked the Space Race. This milestone showed that humans could place a crafted object into orbit around Earth, signaling the dawn of space exploration and triggering a rush by others, especially the United States, to develop their own orbital capabilities. That urgency helped lead to rapid advances, including the eventual creation of NASA in 1958 and a string of subsequent milestones in spaceflight. The other terms refer to different spacecraft or programs: Explorer was an American satellite, Vostok is the Soviet crewed spacecraft program that began in the early 1960s, and Soyuz is a later family of spacecraft used for crewed missions. Sputnik uniquely fits the clue as the 1957 Soviet satellite that started the Space Race.

Sputnik is the first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, and its launch sparked the Space Race. This milestone showed that humans could place a crafted object into orbit around Earth, signaling the dawn of space exploration and triggering a rush by others, especially the United States, to develop their own orbital capabilities. That urgency helped lead to rapid advances, including the eventual creation of NASA in 1958 and a string of subsequent milestones in spaceflight. The other terms refer to different spacecraft or programs: Explorer was an American satellite, Vostok is the Soviet crewed spacecraft program that began in the early 1960s, and Soyuz is a later family of spacecraft used for crewed missions. Sputnik uniquely fits the clue as the 1957 Soviet satellite that started the Space Race.