# Is Sputnik still in orbit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 26, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721 "2013-04-26T00:39:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/1 "2013-04-26T00:39:12Z")
Or has it fallen to Earth? If so, how long did it stay in orbit before tumbling back? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/2 "2013-04-26T00:43:51Z")
No, 2 months, and Google, y’know. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/3 "2013-04-26T00:46:08Z")
[No, it’s not in orbit.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik) [Vanguard 1](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_1) is, though, and will remain in orbit until around 2298. I only mention that because it is the oldest man-made object still in space. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/4 "2013-04-26T02:36:51Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > [No, it’s not in orbit.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik) > > [Vanguard 1](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_1) is, though, and will remain in orbit until around 2298. I only mention that because it is the oldest man-made object still in space. Not if housewives in 1950’s sit coms can be considered man-made. [First human on the moon](http://jaredblakedicroce.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/alice-kramden.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/5 "2013-04-26T02:41:57Z")
Sputnik IV actually came down in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. In the middle of the road: > **[Manitowoc, WI - Sputnik Crashed Here](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/12959)** > > Visit reports, news, maps, directions and info on Sputnik Crashed Here in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/6 "2013-04-26T13:40:42Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > [No, it’s not in orbit.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik) > > [Vanguard 1](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_1) is, though, and will remain in orbit until around 2298. I only mention that because it is the oldest man-made object still in space. yes its the oldest in space. When Vanguard 1,2 and 3, and any other “not interesting at this time” but old satellites crash to earth, there may be a definitions crisis.. We are actually only interested in satellites in Earth orbit.. because of the science of orbit stability… and satellite lifetimes. Stuff sitting on the moon, or going off to some distant star.. thats gone and boring… no science. But.. there’s a bit of an Apollo mission that came back to earth orbit after doing sol orbits… it will probably leave again and go into sol orbit.. so will that qualify as the oldest manmade satellite of earth… ? Or it is more of a satellite of earth&sol, therefore excluded ? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/7 "2013-04-26T13:44:53Z")
Well, technically, all the satellites in NASM are orbiting Sol. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/8 "2013-04-26T13:54:16Z")
I was intrigued by a comment supposedly made by Sputnik’s designer, Sergei Korolev (per the Scottish Wiki’s page) - to make the thing pretty “because it would end up in all the museums.” Partly because I just saw the replica in NASM and partly because NOTHING (else) the Soviets ever made was “pretty,” I find this an interesting incongruity. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/9 "2013-04-26T14:41:45Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Sputnik IV actually came down in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. In the middle of the road: > > [Manitowoc, WI - Sputnik Crashed Here](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/12959) It amuses me that it describes the location as being “in an upscale suburb”. There’s an upscale suburb to **Manitowoc**??? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/10 "2013-04-26T14:55:17Z")
Comparied to \*Soviet \*suburbs … ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/11 "2013-04-26T14:57:49Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Comparied to \*Soviet \*suburbs … Point taken. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/12 "2013-04-26T16:22:48Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > [No, it’s not in orbit.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik) > > [Vanguard 1](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_1) is, though, and will remain in orbit until around 2298. I only mention that because it is the oldest man-made object still in space. Cool. So what’s the oldest Soviet satellite still in orbit? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/13 "2013-04-26T16:42:22Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I was intrigued by a comment supposedly made by Sputnik’s designer, Sergei Korolev (per the Scottish Wiki’s page) - to make the thing pretty “because it would end up in all the museums.” Partly because I just saw the replica in NASM and partly because NOTHING (else) the Soviets ever made was “pretty,” I find this an interesting incongruity. Have you ever been to a Russian art, craft, or design museum? They’re full of Soviet-era exhibits of sufficient variety that at least some of them are sure to meet any given person’s definition of “pretty”. In Moscow there’s a very interesting [museum of Soviet consumer product design](http://www.moscowdesignmuseum.ru/en/). Vladimir has a [museum of embroidery, miniature painting, and glasswork](http://www.museum.vladimir.ru/eng/exhibition/vladimir/crystal_mstera_e?menu=vladimir_exhibition), most of which is from the Soviet era. Also in Moscow is the open-air [Muzeon Park of Arts](http://www.muzeon.ru/)—most people come to gawk at the kitschy statues of Lenin and Stalin, but there’s also a very large and informative display about early (ca. 1920s) Soviet fashion design, which at the time attracted international acclaim. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/14 "2013-04-26T17:29:40Z")
So Wiki simply says Sputnik burned up during reentry and **Cal** ’s Manitowok article says it crashed into the street but doesn’t mention anything about what happened to that remaining debris, just that a replica is displayed nearby. Did any debris survive and, if so, is there a picture of that or, better yet, is it on display somewhere? If no residue was left, how could Manitowok definitively say Sputnik is what dented their road? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/15 "2013-04-26T17:30:35Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Have you ever been to a Russian art, craft, or design museum? I was speaking almost entirely of Soviet-era industrial design; things like the AN-225 and any number of fighters are so ungainly and ugly it’s surprising they fly. Soviet cars are from a Flintstones cartoon. Soviet architecture isn’t that good. As for art, the limits on expression were long and strong and most of it can’t be called more than “interesting.” Most of the things you mention represent traditional Russian/Slavic art forms, which were not generally suppressed. Which is why it’s amazing to me that, at the very height of Sovietness, a highly-regarded Soviet scientist working to further Soviet interests demanded that the thing be attractive. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/16 "2013-04-26T17:47:16Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > So Wiki simply says Sputnik burned up during reentry and **Cal** ’s Manitowok article says it crashed into the street but doesn’t mention anything about what happened to that remaining debris, just that a replica is displayed nearby. > > Did any debris survive and, if so, is there a picture of that or, better yet, is it on display somewhere? If no residue was left, how could Manitowok definitively say Sputnik is what dented their road? there was a bushel of Sputs. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sputnik-still-in-orbit/656721/17 "2013-04-26T18:21:09Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > but there’s also a very large and informative display about early (ca. 1920s) Soviet fashion design, which at the time attracted international acclaim. NEXT! Svimvear! Wery nice.