Sputnik, a Russian word meaning "companion" or "satellite", is a name applied to certain spacecraft launched under the Soviet space program. "Sputnik 1", "Sputnik 2" and "Sputnik 3" were the official Soviet names of those objects, while the remaining designations in the series ("Sputnik 4" and so on) were not official names, but were names applied in the West, to objects whose original Soviet names may not have been known at the time.
Latest from Copernical Team
- NASA Kennedy ground systems prepping hardware for Artemis II and beyond
- Malargüe—A satellite dish best served cold: Cryogenic upgrade boosts capacity by almost 80%
- Astronauts on NASA's Artemis mission to the moon will need better boots. Here's why
- The Starbase rocket testing facility is permanently changing the landscape of southern Texas
- NASA sets new hydrogen sulfide exposure limits for space missions
- Before and after space
- Satnav summer school open for registrations
- Clouds play key role in moderating Earth's surface warming
- Solar Observatory sees coronal loops flicker before big flares
- NASA celebrates Edwin Hubble's discovery of a new universe