: It was a 58 cm polished metal sphere with four external antennas. Its primary mission was to test the placement of a satellite into orbit and measure atmospheric density. SPUTNIK - Rossiya Segodnya : It was a
: It completed 1,440 orbits over three months before burning up in the atmosphere on January 4, 1958. 2. Sputnik News Agency
: Its success led to the creation of NASA in 1958 and the launch of the first American satellite, Explorer I .