Changes

*''Sputnik I'', launched [[October]] 4, 1957, carried an artificial satellite into orbit. It caused some concern in the [[USA]], that the Soviet Union were the first to launch a satellite into orbit. ''Sputnik I'' was about the size of a beach ball (58&nbsp;cm or 22.8inches in diameter),<ref>[http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/ NASA's files on Sputnik]</ref> had antennas sticking out of it, contained a beeping radio transmitter,<ref>CNN: Cold War Vol. 3 - Documentary</ref> and weighed only 183 pounds.<ref>http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/</ref> This success started the [[Space Race]] between the USSR and the USA.

*''Sputnik I'', launched [[October]] 4, 1957, carried an artificial satellite into orbit. It caused some concern in the [[USA]], that the Soviet Union were the first to launch a satellite into orbit. ''Sputnik I'' was about the size of a beach ball (58&nbsp;cm or 22.8inches in diameter),<ref>[http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/ NASA's files on Sputnik]</ref> had antennas sticking out of it, contained a beeping radio transmitter,<ref>CNN: Cold War Vol. 3 - Documentary</ref> and weighed only 183 pounds.<ref>http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/</ref> This success started the [[Space Race]] between the USSR and the USA.

*''Sputnik II'' carried a dog named Laika (Russian:  Лайка) into space on November 3, 1957.  Laika was originally a stray, and she died a while after the launch.

*''Sputnik II'' carried a dog named [[Laika]] (Russian:  Лайка) into space on November 3, 1957.  [[Laika]] was originally a stray, and she died a while after the launch.

Although Sputnik was ultimately responsible for the Space Race and the Missile Gap, it should be noted that it being launched first was due to a conscious decision on the part of then-President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], as he worried that America launching a spy satellite first, due to it technically contradicting some aspects of international law,<ref>https://www.csmonitor.com/1996/1023/102396.feat.science.1.html</ref> would result in several Soviet-orchestrated international protests in response.<ref>''The Politically Incorrect Guide to the 1960s'', pp 118-9.</ref> He also prevented Werner von Braun from doing a planned launch of a satellite on January 1957, well ahead of Sputnik's launch.<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=5bIy6RVkL3sC&lpg=PA27&pg=PA27#v=onepage&q&f=false</ref>

Although Sputnik was ultimately responsible for the Space Race and the Missile Gap, it should be noted that it being launched first was due to a conscious decision on the part of then-President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], as he worried that America launching a spy satellite first, due to it technically contradicting some aspects of international law,<ref>https://www.csmonitor.com/1996/1023/102396.feat.science.1.html</ref> would result in several Soviet-orchestrated international protests in response.<ref>''The Politically Incorrect Guide to the 1960s'', pp 118-9.</ref> He also prevented Werner von Braun from doing a planned launch of a satellite on January 1957, well ahead of Sputnik's launch.<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=5bIy6RVkL3sC&lpg=PA27&pg=PA27#v=onepage&q&f=false</ref>