On 29 July 1955 American scientists announced their intention to launch the first artificial satellite of the Earth within the next two years

On 2 August, at the Sixth Congress of the International Astronautical Federation in Copenhagen, Academician Sedov promised that the USSR would launch an Earth satellite before the United States. At the same time, he did not rule out cooperation between the powers

The Russians have won! Newspapers with such headlines appeared all over America the day after the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite from Baikonur on 4 October 1957

In the first days after the launch the word "sputnik" had not yet become international, and "satellite" was still being written in its place. As for the figures: read the parameters and reflect once more on how splendid the metric system is

On the one hand, "Eisenhower took the Soviet triumph calmly"; on the other, radio amateurs all over America are catching the signal of the Soviet satellite and trying to decipher it: "sounds like -O- in Morse code"