Hi Gang -
Since my Wife’s Birthday is the same day that Sputnik was launched (no, I won’t tell you the date!) :eek:, I got to wondering whether or not it was still orbiting the earth, or whether it had crashed and burned long ago.
EarlyMan
Sputnik 1 de-orbited on January 4, 1958. I don’t think you’re very likely to find it.
It reentered and burnt up in the atmosphere on Jan. 4, 1958.
It was only in orbit for three months and then re-entered the atmosphere:
friedo has already answered this, but I’ll leave my answer for the link.
But what I’ve been trying to find out is: Is it still in orbit, and if not, how long was it, and when did it crash?
And where can I find a link to information about it?
Back in the day, Sputnik was a really big deal. I remember going out in the yard with my parents to watch it passing overhead. As a kid, I didn’t know why it was a big deal, I just thought it was cool. I used to listen to Willy Ley records on our big Magnavox stereo console.
Thank God it lasted more than twenty minutes, and made more than one orbit, or we would never hear the end of it.
Regards,
Shodan
Not the first Sputnik, I believe, but the fourth satellite crashed on a road in Wisconsin:
I don’t think any of Sputnik 1 reached the ground.
Duran Duran wrote a song about it. It was titled “Rio.”
Wasn’t Sputnik 3 called “Hi Opal”?
Ha! October 4th! 
(Happy slightly-early Birthday to your wife.)
It was a big tragedy when it crashed because the little dog inside of it nicknamed Sputs also died. That’s why there was so much controversy when Budweiser mocked the Russians with Sputs Mackenziwich. They had to change the name when it almost led to a nuclear confrontation. Fortunately Khrushchev blinked after being given a t-shirt showing Spuds as “the original party animal.” This tribute to Communism saved the planet.
No—sadly, a passing Klingon Battlecruiser used it for target practice sometime in the late 1950s.
Leaving aside the obvious jokes there, Laika the dog was on Sputnik 2 (AKA Muttnik), not the original, and was euthanized while still in space, well before re-entry.
The OP may be interested to know that the oldest man made object still in orbit is Vanguard 1, launched in 1964.
According to the Russians, she actually died after only a few hours in orbit due to overheating and stress. They did have plans to euthanize her with poisoned food but it was not necessary.
No, the dog died of hyperthermia.
ETA: Dang. Rain Soaked beat me to it.
You mean 1958? I think '64 was when Vanguard ceased operation.
Right you are, thank you. Now it’s even more impressive!