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Published online 4 October 2007 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2007.141
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50 years in space
On 4 October 1957, Sputnik launched us on a path into space.
Fifty years ago, a small aluminium sphere called Sputnik became the first artificial object to orbit Earth.
The Soviet Union launched the satellite atop a modified R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile.
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