4 October 1957: The Shot Heard (and Seen) Around the World
The space race begins with the launch of Sputnik (Russian for traveler) by an indigenously developed and modified R-7 ICBM (NATO Codename SS-6 Sapwood). R-7 Семёрка/SS-6 SAPWOOD Design work began at OKB-1 (later S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia) in Kaliningrad (now Korolev) and other divisions in 1953 with the requirement for a…