depleted. Aerodynamic drag caused it to fall back into the atmosphere on 4 January 1958.

It was a polished metal sphere 58 cm in diameter with four external radio antennas to broadcast radio pulses. Its radio signal was easily detectable by amateur radio operators, and the 65° orbital inclination made its flight path cover virtually the entire inhabited Earth.

The satellite's success was unanticipated by the United States. This precipitated the

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