Fifty years ago Thursday, the Soviet Union started the Space Age by sending the first man-made satellite into orbit around the earth.
Sputnik changed history when it went into space on Oct. 4, 1957, but its designers didn't immediately see the launch as a major accomplishment.
The shock announcement on Radio Moscow spread alarm in the West that the Soviet Union was pulling ahead in technological development.
"The first artificial earth satellite in the world has now been created. This first satellite was today successfully launched in the U.S.S.R.," the announcer said.
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