Sputnik 1, the first man-made object to be placed in orbit around Earth, was launched by the USSR on October 4, 1957.

A 29-meter (96-foot) rocket with 510,037 kilograms (1,124,440 pounds) of thrust boosted Sputnik 1 into orbit. The satellite’s orbital and radio data provided scientists with information on atmospheric and electron densities. Sputnik 1 transmitted temperature data for 22 days before its batteries ran down.

The 83.5-kilogram (184-pound) satellite reentered the earth’s atmosphere and burned up on January 4, 1958.

This Sputnik model is from the USSR Academy of Sciences.