answers: 4 October 1957
context: Sputnik 1 Sputnik 1 ( or ; "Satellite-1", or "PS-1", Простейший Спутник-1 or "Prosteyshiy Sputnik-1", "Elementary Satellite 1") was the first artificial Earth satellite. The Soviet Union launched it into an elliptical low Earth orbit on 4 October 1957, orbiting for three weeks before its batteries died, then silently for two more months before falling back into the atmosphere. It was a 58 cm (23 in) diameter polished metal sphere, with four external radio antennas to broadcast radio pulses. Its radio signal was easily detectable even by radio amateurs, and the 65° inclination and duration of its orbit made its </s> 1960, was the world's first active repeater satellite. The first artificial satellite used solely to further advances in global communications was a balloon named Echo 1. Echo 1 was the world's first artificial communications satellite capable of relaying signals to other points on Earth. It soared above the planet after its Aug. 12, 1960 launch, yet relied on humanity's oldest flight technology — ballooning. Launched by NASA, Echo 1 was a aluminized PET film balloon that served as a passive reflector for radio communications. The world's first inflatable satellite — or "satelloon", as they were informally known — helped lay </s> the Air Force Space and Missile Museum. Here too, a full-scale Explorer 1 is on display, but this one is a mockup. Explorer 1 was the first orbital object to return scientific data. Its launch happened 100 years to the day after the SS Great Eastern was launched. The ship was larger than any that came before it, and accomplished laying the first lasting transatlantic telegraph cable. Both events served to more closely knit the world together. Explorer 1 Explorer 1 was the first satellite of the United States, launched as part of its participation in the International Geophysical Year.
question: when did the u.s.s.r launch the first satellite to orbit the world