Surname 1NameTutorClassDate of submissionWhy was the launching of Sputnik important? How did it affect the United States?Sputnik was a milestone in the world technological development after it became the firstartificial satellite of the earth.The Soviet Union was the country associated with the milestonehaving launched Sputnik 1 on the fourth day of October 1957. The first artificial satellite wasspherical covering a diameter of 58 centimeters and weighing 83.6 kilograms. It was made froma shiny metal so that it could be easily visible, with radio antennae attached to its surface fortransmission of radio signals. It went round the earth on an elliptical path within a time period of98 minutes. On the 26thof October the power source for Sputnik 1 was exhausted and hence amonth after the first satellite launch, Sputnik II was sent to the earth’s orbit. The Soviet Unionmilestone launches of the artificial satellite lead to new advancements in science, technology,political as well as the military and consequently intensifying the US-USSR cold war.