[SatNews] A metal sphere measuring just 23-inches in diameter and weighing 184 pounds "beeped" its then-alarming message of spatial timeliness 53 years ago... Sputnik 1 had been successfully launched by the Soviet Union and attained elliptical orbit, where everyone could hear of its success. Every 101 minutes, Sputnik 1 circled the Earth and the space age — as well as the space race — was born. The first attempt to counter the Russian success by the U.S. was the Vanguard satellite, but that failed, and Explorer 1 was speedily constructed and launched, followed by the moon walk of Astronaut Neil Armstrong, and satellite technology and space exploration claimed new success year after year after year. Lest we forget, Sputnik 1 was the first in this dynamic, technological movement into space.