The first artificial satellite in space was called “Sputnik”.

 

The first artificial satellite in space was called “Sputnik”

It was launched by the Soviet Union into an elliptical low Earth orbit on October 4, 1957.

The Soviet Union inaugurates the “Space Age” with its launch of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite, on October 4, 1957. The spacecraft, named Sputnik after the Russian word for “fellow traveler,” was launched at 10:29 p.m. Moscow time from the Tyuratam launch base in the Kazakh Republic.