50 years ago on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched a basketball-sized satellite into space. Sputnik I weighed 183 pounds and orbited Earth transmitting a beeping radio signal for 23 days before it ran out of batteries. The Sputnik I launch changed the course of scientific research and the tone of the U S.-Soviet Cold War. Its anniversary marks the time frame of how long the space race has been going on. See attached link and other links.