Venus is examined by instruments in space

The Soviet Union launched the first artificial Earth satellite from a spaceport in the Kazakh Soviet Republic.

Sputnik 1 began transmitting radio beeps as it orbited Earth, opening new possibilities for tracking a satellite.

Radio signals from Sputnik could be received outside the launch program, making the orbit publicly observable.

The successful launch created a new platform for studying Earth and, later, the wider universe.

The spacecraft became the first successful interplanetary probe to visit another planet.

Mariner 2 showed that interplanetary spacecraft could return measurements from distant worlds.

The flyby provided direct data to compare with Earth-based astronomical observations.

Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel in space.

The Vostok 6 mission began from Soviet Central Asia and went on to orbit Earth 48 times.

Tereshkova’s launch showed a woman could perform an orbital spaceflight despite earlier exclusion.