Curious Minute answer
What was the name of the first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957?
The answer
Sputnik 1
The answer was Sputnik 1. Here's the why, the decoys, and the source trail.
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Why it's right
Sputnik 1 launched on October 4, 1957. NASA describes the launch as the moment that marked the beginning of the space age.
About the choices
A good question makes the wrong answers feel close. Here is the clean read on the set.
- Explorer 1 - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
- Sputnik 1 - correct answer.
- Vanguard 1 - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
- Luna 1 - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
What to remember
Sputnik 1 is the one to remember. Sputnik 1 launched on October 4, 1957. The Sputnik launch helped push the United States to create NASA less than a year later, in July 1958.
How readers answered
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Sources: NASA