The Sputnik 1 was the very first satellite that was successful. It was crafted by the Soviet Union at that time and started the competetion of the Space Race. Sputnik 1 was around the size of a beach ball, weighing in at 184lbs and was 28 inches wide. Sputnik also featured a long antenna at the very top of it, that antenna was the length of 12.8 feet. The satellite was powered by silver-zinc batteries and lasted 22 days in space and was living in space with nothing but radio silence, until it came crashing down back to earth on Januaray 4th, 1958. The rocket supporting the satellite to reach orbit came back down to earth on December 2nd, 1957. The US saw this accomplishment by the Soviet Union and created the company called NASA for all space-related research.