Soviets Launch Sputnik - HISTORY

A news report announces the Soviet Union's successful launch on October 4, 1957, of the world's first satellite, marking the start of the space race between the U.S. and the USSR.

FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

RELATED CONTENT

On April 12, 1981, NASA launched the world's first reusable manned spacecraft. In the minutes before takeoff, Kennedy Space Center launch control communicates with astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen as they prepare to take Columbia on its first test flight into space and back.

On November 4, 1963, the Soviets launched an attack to quell the Hungarian Revolution, which began on October 23. A Radio Budapest correspondent reads a statement delivered earlier by Hungarian Premier Imre Nagy charging the Soviets with attempting to overthrow Hungary's "lawful democratic government."

Trace the steps that led to the collapse of America's Cold War foe as told by musician and artist Jeffrey Lewis.

U.N. Secretary General Kurt Waldheim congratulates the American and Soviet astronauts for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. On July 17, 1975, Commanders Thomas P. Safford and Aleksei Leonov shook hands in space.

On February 28, 1946, Secretary of State James Byrnes addresses the Overseas Press Club to discuss the purposes of the United Nations. In his speech, Byrnes makes an indirect reference to the Soviet Union when he declares that the United States is prepared to "act to prevent aggression."

An August 22, 1968, a U.S. Democratic Platform hearing is interrupted when Chairman Hale Boggs is handed a bulletin announcing the Soviets' invasion of Czechoslovakia. Rep. Boggs reads the news and Secretary of State Dean Rusk makes a hasty departure to find out what's going on.

CLOSE

CLOSE

CLOSE

CLOSE