The Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space in October 1957. The craft, Sputnik, was the size of a beach ball, weighed 83.6kg and orbited the Earth once every 98 minutes. Though it burnt up in the atmosphere four months later, Sputnik was the starting gun for the space race and the thousands of satellites that have launched since. Today, scientists estimate that as many as 5,000 man-made satellites are circling the planet, transmitting messages and collecting vast seams of data about the Earth, its people, and the solar system.
1957年10月，苏联向太空发射了第一颗卫星。这颗名为“斯普特尼克”的人造卫星有一个沙滩球那么大，重83.6公斤，每98分钟绕地球一周。尽管四个月后斯普特尼克在大气层中燃烧殆尽，但它却是太空竞赛和此后发射的数千颗卫星的发令枪。如今，科学家估计有多达5000颗人造卫星在环绕地球运行，传输信息，收集大量关于地球、人类和太阳系的数据。
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