On October 4, 1957 the BBC report began:
A Russian satellite has been launched into space - the first man-made object ever to leave the Earth's atmosphere.
The Russian news agency, Tass, said the satellite Sputnik was now 560 miles (900 kilometres) above the Earth and circling it every hour-and-a-half.
Scientists predict the metal sphere will eventually burn up in the atmosphere but they hope it will send important data back to Earth before doing so.
The Soviet Union and the USA have both committed to launching satellites for research as part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY).
Delegations from both countries' IGY committees were at a reception at the Russian embassy in Washington when news of Sputnik's launch came through.
The chairman of the American IGY committee, Dr Joseph Kaplan, congratulated the Russians on a "remarkable achievement".
The leader of the Russian delegation, Dr A A Blagonravov, who is believed to have been closely involved with the preparations for the launch, described Sputnik as "the simplest kind of baby moon".
He attributed its weight - 180lb (83.5kg) - largely to heavy batteries.
Here's the whole BBC story on the Sputnki launch.
